Mercado Bitcoin Hack: Reports Split on Chains, Loss Size
Three outlets describe the same Mercado Bitcoin hot-wallet breach but give different figures for how many blockchains were hit, how much was stolen, and how much has been frozen.
Three outlets describe the same Mercado Bitcoin hot-wallet breach but give different figures for how many blockchains were hit, how much was stolen, and how much has been frozen.
What all sources agree on
- Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals after a security incident in its hot wallets.
- The exchange said no customer data was breached and said customers would not lose assets.
- Tether froze more than 4.5 million USDT connected to the incident, confirmed by CEO Paolo Ardoino.
- Bloomberg reported the exchange said it would absorb the full loss.
- The exchange published destination wallet addresses to help track the stolen funds.
Where the reports disagree
1Number of blockchains the attacker drained funds across
The attacker drained funds across at least ten blockchains (Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Tron, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Stellar, etc.), per Hypernative/Arkham/Bitquery analysis.
Its analysis found the exchange’s hot wallets on 10 chains paid the attacker within about 25 minutes.
Chainalysis traced an estimated $49 million drain across 17 blockchains.
What would settle it: A published Chainalysis or Hypernative/Arkham/Bitquery on-chain trace listing the specific chain IDs involved.
2Total value drained from the exchange
Blockchain security firm Hypernative put the preliminary loss above $40 million, while Arkham Intelligence pegged it at roughly $46 million.
Bitquery puts the total taken at US$48.5 million (AU$69.4 million).
Mercado Bitcoin estimated the value of affected assets at about $38 million. Blockchain investigations firm Chainalysis, which helped trace the stolen funds, estimated that approximately $49 million had been drained across 17 blockchains.
What would settle it: A final reconciled on-chain loss figure from the exchange or a named blockchain forensics firm, or Mercado Bitcoin’s own financial disclosure of the incident.
3Total amount of funds frozen or blocked beyond the Tether 4.5M USDT
On-chain data firm Bitquery later counted US$7.3 million (AU$10.44 million) frozen by Tether and stablecoin issuer Paxos combined.
The exchange said $11 million had been blocked with assistance from Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1 and Chainalysis.
What would settle it: A consolidated statement from Mercado Bitcoin or the stablecoin issuers listing each freeze action and amount.
What to make of it
Treat the core facts of the breach, the no-customer-loss pledge, and the Tether freeze of 4.5 million USDT as established; the exact number of blockchains hit, the total dollar amount stolen, and the total amount frozen remain unresolved and vary by source.
Treat the core facts of the breach, the no-customer-loss pledge, and the Tether freeze of 4.5 million USDT as established; the exact number of blockchains hit, the total dollar amount stolen, and the total amount frozen remain unresolved and vary by source.
Original source: AltcoinGordon
Syndicated coverage. Originally reported by altcoingordon.com.
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