Mercado Bitcoin Calls Attack Contained as On-Chain Losses Mount

Mercado Bitcoin has said it contained an attack targeting its platform on November 2. The company’s announcement indicated that the breach had been stopped, but the available report does not provide further technical details about the intrusion, affected assets, or remediation process. Bitquery’s subsequent analysis presented a different timeline. According to Cointribune, researchers observed thousands of deposit addresses losing funds after the company announced that the attack had been contained, with approximately $48.6 million in assets tracked across eleven blockchains. The analysis also raised concerns about the extent of the attacker’s access, particularly to bitcoin-related funds. The discrepancy between the company’s account and the on-chain findings leaves the effective containment point unclear. It also suggests that the initial public announcement may not have captured the full scope of the loss, although the supplied coverage does not establish whether every affected address was compromised directly or through a related mechanism.

Market conditions provide a wider backdrop to the incident. Bitcoin is trading at $76,007, down 5.31% over 24 hours and 2.01% over seven days, with a $1.53 trillion market capitalization. The total crypto market capitalization stands at $2.62 trillion as the broader market moves broadly lower, while the Fear & Greed index stands at 28, indicating fear.

The reported scale and multi-chain reach make the case material for platform users, counterparties, and researchers reviewing the incident. The next points to examine are whether Mercado Bitcoin revises its containment timeline, whether additional affected addresses or asset totals emerge, and whether the $48.6 million estimate changes with further on-chain analysis.