Brazil’s Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Says It Will Refund Users After a $40 Million Hack

Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, says it will cover customers’ losses after a security breach on 2 November. The exchange puts the value of the affected assets at about $38 million and says customer balances remain recorded in their accounts. It suspended deposits and withdrawals while it investigates, and has given no date for restoring them. The company says no customer data was leaked and has not explained how the attacker gained access.

Estimates of the theft differ. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis puts it at about $49 million and says assets were moved across 17 blockchains. Mercado Bitcoin says it has blocked $11 million with help from industry partners; freezing tokens prevents further transfers but does not itself recover the money. The exchange says it has informed the authorities and will resume services once security is restored. Its promise to cover customers’ losses has yet to be tested through completed repayments.