Chainalysis Tallies Mercado Bitcoin Hack at $49 Million Across 17 Chains

Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis estimated that an exploit targeting Mercado Bitcoin totaled approximately $49 million distributed across 17 distinct blockchains ¹. The figures clarify the scale of the security incident after initial indications prompted the exchange to freeze platform activity ¹. Earlier coverage noted that Mercado Bitcoin halts withdrawals following potential breach as security teams mobilized to contain unauthorized asset movements.

In response to the exploit, Mercado Bitcoin announced that $11 million of the stolen assets has been blocked ¹. The exchange also pledged that customer funds would be made whole, promising that users will experience no losses from the breach ¹. Despite the containment of a portion of the capital, access to platform services remains entirely suspended while investigations continue ¹.

Investigation and Asset Tracing

The security breach underscores the technical challenges exchanges face when dealing with cross-chain asset dissipation, as the stolen assets were routed through 17 networks ¹. Chainalysis continues to trace exploit proceeds alongside internal platform security teams ¹. At the time of writing, major digital assets are trading in negative territory, with $BTC at $77,086 and $ETH at $2,257 amid a broader market sentiment index of 26.

Mercado Bitcoin continues to keep platform access and customer withdrawals suspended as containment measures persist ¹. No formal timeline has been confirmed by the firm for restoring normal service access while incident responses and wallet tracking remain ongoing ¹.