Mercado Bitcoin plans to begin restoring website access on November 9 following the security incident that disrupted its platform on November 2. Customers will initially be able to view account information, while trading, transfers and withdrawals remain unavailable.
The Brazilian exchange says it will replace affected assets using company funds. The reopening plan gives customers a date for checking their holdings, but it does not yet provide a timetable for moving those assets.
Key Takeaways
- November 9 marks the planned start of view-only website access.
- Trading and withdrawals will return later, after security validation.
- The latest company FAQ reports more than $16 million blocked with partners’ help.
What the First Reopening Phase Includes
Mercado Bitcoin’s November 4 update says customers will be able to consult balances, statements, holdings and investments through its website. Other functions will follow as individual modules complete final security checks.
The company says it is independently testing environments and transaction flows across its integrated custody, deposit, trading and balance-management systems. That makes the return of account viewing a separate milestone from the restoration of transaction services.
For customers planning a transfer, that distinction matters. Seeing a balance confirms what the account displays; it does not show that withdrawals are operational. Follow the announcement for the specific service you need rather than treating “reopening” as a return to normal activity.
Customer Balances and Replacement Assets
In its updated incident FAQ, Mercado Bitcoin says customer balance records remain intact. It distinguishes those records from the assets held in its wallets to back them, some of which were removed during the incident.
The exchange plans to purchase replacement assets with its own resources. Its November 4 statement says the trading desk is preparing repurchases in domestic and international markets. That commitment should be tracked separately from efforts to recover the stolen funds.
Blocked assets are another category. A freeze can restrict an attacker’s ability to move tokens without immediately returning them to the exchange. Mercado Bitcoin’s latest figure of more than $16 million blocked is therefore a containment update, not confirmation that the same amount has already been restored to customer access.
Blockchain Researchers Raise Timeline Questions
In a November 5 investigation, Bitquery estimated that $48.6 million left Mercado Bitcoin wallets across 11 blockchains, valued at transfer-time prices. It also identified 36,042 Ethereum customer deposit addresses swept during the attack.
Bitquery says those sweeps continued for about four hours after the exchange publicly described the incident as contained. That finding raises questions about the containment timeline, but blockchain transfers alone do not establish precisely how the attacker first obtained access.
The researcher’s estimate should remain attributed rather than presented as a final reconciled company loss. UEEx’s crypto hacks archive provides context on how incident accounts develop as investigators identify additional wallets and transactions.
What Happens to Open Orders?
The latest company FAQ says all limit orders open before the November 2 interruption will be cancelled. Reserved amounts will return to available balances without charge. Mercado Bitcoin says prices changed during the outage, and customers might otherwise have orders execute under very different conditions when markets resume.
Once trading returns, review the current market before submitting replacement orders. Keep earlier statements and order references for comparison. An order submitted before the outage reflects an earlier price and decision. Reconsider its size, limit price and purpose when services return, instead of automatically recreating instructions that may no longer match your plans. Our wallet security guide also explains why access and custody require different safeguards.
Mercado Bitcoin warns against messages promising to release balances or requesting credentials. Use its verified channels and avoid unsolicited recovery offers. UEEx’s guide to protecting crypto from hackers covers related account-safety precautions.
Conclusion
The November 9 plan restores visibility first. Customers should watch for separate confirmation of trading and withdrawal availability, alongside progress on asset replacement. The next meaningful checkpoint is secure access to transactions, beyond the ability to view an account balance.
