Mercado Bitcoin to Reopen in Phases From November 9, Pledging to Cover Hack Losses

Published November 5, 2026, 4:50 AM PKT. Based on Mercado Bitcoin's reopening update as reported by TradersUnion on November 4, 2026 (primary source, citing Cointelegraph), BBX's November 4, 2026 report (secondary source), and CoinCourier's November 4, 2026 report (secondary source).

Mercado Bitcoin will begin restoring customer access in phases from Monday, November 9, 2026, a week after a November 2 security incident that drained tens of millions of dollars from the Brazilian exchange's hot wallets and customer deposit addresses. The first phase opens the exchange's website so customers can view balances, statements, holdings and investments, TradersUnion reported on November 4, citing Cointelegraph's account of the exchange's update. Transfers, withdrawals and trading will return only in later phases, and only after each module passes security verification, so the November 9 date is the start of a staged return, not a full reopening. The plan answers the question this site has carried as its standing watch item since the incident: when customers get access back. It is the first calendar date the exchange has attached to any part of the restoration, after days in which it promised only that services would resume once full security conditions were in place.

November 9 opens with balance checks only

The sequencing matters more than the date. In phase one, customers can look but cannot move anything: no transfers, no withdrawals, no trading, TradersUnion reported. Each later function opens only after its own module clears security checks, BBX reported, and CoinCourier noted that the exchange's public status information still showed deposits and withdrawals as suspended as of the November 4 reporting cutoff. That means a customer who logs in on November 9 will be able to confirm what the exchange says they hold, but will not yet be able to act on it, and no date has been given for the phases that follow. The exchange has also said its trading desk is preparing repurchases in domestic and international markets, TradersUnion reported, which is part of how it plans to replace the affected assets rather than simply waiting for frozen funds to be returned.

The 15 million freeze and the company funds pledge

Mercado Bitcoin says it will use its own funds to compensate for the affected assets and reiterates that customer assets will not suffer losses, BBX reported. The exchange says more than $15 million in stolen assets has already been frozen with help from industry participants, TradersUnion reported, and BBX named the partners as Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1, Chainalysis and crypto community experts. The frozen figure has climbed steadily through the week: the exchange first cited about $11 million blocked on November 2, then about $12.9 million on November 3, and now more than $15 million, according to the sequence of its own updates. Frozen is not the same as returned, and the exchange has not said how much of the frozen sum has actually been recovered to customer accounts. On liquidity, the exchange says it holds a strong cash position, supported by a $20 million investment from stablecoin issuer Tether intended to back operational expansion, TradersUnion reported. That is the company's own claim about its balance sheet, not an audited figure.

The loss figures still do not agree

The size of the theft itself remains unsettled, and the gap between the figures is wide enough that readers should not treat any single number as final. The exchange first put the assets involved at about $38 million, then revised that to about $36.3 million affected with $12.9 million blocked, according to The Crypto Guide's tracking of its updates. Outside analysts have traced more: security firm Hypernative flagged more than $40 million in suspicious transfers across at least 10 blockchains, Arkham traced at least $46 million, and Chainalysis put the figure at about $49 million, according to earlier reports. TradersUnion's November 4 report put the estimate at over $46 million. CoinCourier cautioned that the available evidence does not establish whether the company's figures and the analysts' figures use the same scope or accounting basis, so they should not be treated as a reconciled final total. The exchange has also not disclosed how the attackers gained access, and no official technical explanation or definitive loss total was available as of November 4, CoinCourier reported. What is established is the shape of the incident: attackers moved funds from hot wallets and customer deposit addresses through standard transfers in the early hours of November 2, the exchange suspended deposits, withdrawals and trading the same day, and this site previously reported the halt and a subsequent $8 million movement of stolen Ether. The November 9 plan is the first concrete step back toward normal service, but every step after the first remains conditional on security checks, not on a calendar.

Sources

• Mercado Bitcoin reopening update, as reported by TradersUnion, Mercado Bitcoin to reopen access in phases after hack, pledges to cover losses, November 4, 2026, 11:23 PM UTC (primary source: phased reopening starts Monday, balance checks first, transfers, withdrawals and trading only after security verification, company funds to cover losses, more than $15 million frozen, $20 million Tether investment supporting liquidity)
• BBX, Mercado Bitcoin hackers dumped PENDLE via CowSwap and 1inch, November 4, 2026 (secondary source: phased restoration from November 9, first phase opens website for balances, bills, assets and investments, later functions after security verification, own funds to compensate, more than $15 million frozen with Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1, Chainalysis and community experts)
• CoinCourier, Mercado Bitcoin Plans Phased Reopening After Security Incident, November 4, 2026 (secondary source: November 9, 2026 start date, deposits and withdrawals still suspended at the November 4 cutoff, no final public explanation or definitive loss total available, company and analyst figures not on a reconciled basis)
• The Crypto Guide, Mercado Bitcoin pauses services after security incident, updated November 3, 2026 (secondary source: company figures revised from about $38 million and $11 million blocked to about $36.3 million affected and $12.9 million blocked, gradual reopening previously promised without a date)

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.