Mercado Bitcoin says users will not bear $38 million hack losses

Mercado Bitcoin says customers will not lose funds after a hack caused about $38 million in losses, shifting the cost to the Brazilian exchange. The exchange’s pledge and estimate were reported by CoinDesk on Nov. 3.

What did the exchange promise to cover?

Mercado Bitcoin said it would absorb the losses and expects customers to suffer none. Its estimate was about $38 million, while early outside estimates were above $40 million.

The attack took funds from hot wallets, which are online wallets used to move crypto, across at least 10 blockchains. Mercado Bitcoin temporarily suspended access to its platform as a precaution, according to CoinDesk.

How much of the stolen crypto has been frozen?

Mercado Bitcoin said about $11 million had been frozen with help from Tether, Circle and Chainalysis, according to CoinDesk. Freezing can stop some tokens from being moved, but it does not mean the funds have been returned to the exchange.

Chainalysis, which assisted the response, reported that it helped freeze nearly $10 million. Its incident account said the theft began in the early hours of Nov. 2 and involved an estimated $49 million across 17 blockchains. The figures differ from Mercado Bitcoin’s estimate.

Chainalysis said it traced the stolen assets, shared addresses with law enforcement and contacted stablecoin issuers. It reported that Tether froze more than $4 million in USDT, a token designed to track the U.S. dollar.

What happens to customers’ accounts next?

The exchange said customer balances remain protected and that its teams were investigating, tracing assets and coordinating with authorities. It also said no customer data had leaked, CoinDesk reported.

The company has not given a date for restoring full platform access in the reports reviewed. The next figure to watch is whether the amount frozen rises above the $11 million Mercado Bitcoin reported.

References

• CoinDesk — coindesk.com
• incident account — chainalysis.com