Mercado Bitcoin began restoring read-only access to customer accounts on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, a week after attackers stole an estimated $49 million from the Brazilian crypto exchange. It had not announced when withdrawals would resume.
According to Cointelegraph’s report, published on Nov. 10, 2026, at 02:25:29 UTC+8, a Mercado Bitcoin spokesperson said access would open in phases from 19:00 UTC on Monday, with all accounts expected to be viewable by 21:00 UTC. Customers would see their holdings as recorded on Nov. 2, the day of the attack.
Account access returns before withdrawals
In a video posted to the exchange’s X account, Fabricio Tota, vice president of new business, said read-only access was intended to reassure customers that their assets remained recorded on the platform. He said the exchange had chosen “a more conservative approach” to reopening accounts to prioritize security.
The next recovery phase would require users to confirm their registration details before moving funds. Mercado Bitcoin planned to restore withdrawals through Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system, initially restricting transfers to accounts in each customer’s own name. Tota provided no date for either step.
Exchange pledges to cover losses
Mercado Bitcoin said it would use company funds to replace the stolen assets and that customers would not bear the losses. It made that pledge on Nov. 4, following a $20 million investment from stablecoin issuer Tether in July.
Tota said nearly all assets had not been touched during the incident. He also said a portion of the stolen funds had been frozen in the hours after the exchange disclosed the attack.
The company, described in the report as one of Brazil’s largest crypto exchanges, told Brazilian magazine Veja in late October that it had more than 4.8 million customers and had processed over 215 billion Brazilian reais ($39 billion) in cumulative transactions.
How attackers accessed the wallets remains unexplained
Mercado Bitcoin had not explained how the attackers gained access to its wallets. Blockchain security analysts raised concerns that funds were drained through standard transfers from compromised addresses rather than through a smart contract exploit. Analysts also traced some stolen funds to customer deposit addresses.
Blockchain data company Bitquery found that, as of Nov. 4, wallets it linked to the attacker held most of the stolen funds that had escaped freezes, including 106.07 BTC.
At the time of the report, both the withdrawal timetable and the method used to access the exchange’s wallets remained unresolved.
Original source: Cointelegraph, published Nov. 10, 2026, at 02:25:29 UTC+8.