Mercado Bitcoin to Restore Account Access Monday After $46 Million Hack

Mercado Bitcoin will begin a phased restoration of customer account access on Monday, one week after attackers drained more than $46 million from the Brazilian exchange's hot wallets and customer deposit addresses, according to blockchain analysts' estimates cited by Cointelegraph.

The first phase is read-only. Customers logging in through the company's website will be able to view balances, statements, holdings and investments. Transfers, withdrawals and trading remain suspended and will resume only in later phases, pending independent security testing, the exchange said in its statement.

Who pays for the losses?

Mercado Bitcoin has committed to covering the breach from its own balance sheet. The company said it will use company funds to replenish assets affected by the attack, and that more than $15 million in stolen funds have already been frozen with assistance from industry partners.

"Our trading desk is preparing to begin the necessary repurchases in domestic and international markets," the exchange said, signalling that it intends to buy back the affected assets rather than socialize losses across users.

The freeze figure matters operationally. With roughly one third of the estimated haul immobilized, the exchange still faces a gap of about $31 million against analysts' $46 million estimate — a sum the company says its cash position can absorb.

Where does the exchange's liquidity stand?

Mercado Bitcoin said its cash position remains strong, bolstered by a $20 million investment from stablecoin issuer Tether that was made to support operational expansion. That capital line now doubles as a buffer while the trading desk executes repurchases across domestic and international venues.

The breach itself was disclosed on Monday. Attackers moved funds out of the company's hot wallets and customer deposit addresses through standard on-chain transfers, meaning the theft exploited key or infrastructure compromise rather than a novel smart-contract flaw. That distinction shapes the remediation: the exchange is running independent security checks before it re-enables any movement of funds.

What happens Monday — and what does not?

Monday's reopening restores visibility, not control. Customers can verify that their balances, statements and holdings survived intact, which the exchange likely hopes will reduce panic-driven support volume and public pressure. But deposits, withdrawals and trading stay dark until the security review clears each subsequent phase.

The sequencing carries risk in both directions. A prolonged freeze tests customer patience and invites regulatory scrutiny from Brazilian authorities; a premature restart risks a second breach. The exchange has not published a timeline for the later phases, leaving the independent security audit as the effective gate for full restoration of trading and withdrawals.