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Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a major security breach, with on-chain analysts putting the stolen assets at more than $46 million. The attacker still holds a sizeable basket of altcoins, including 372.99 billion PEPE, according to Lookonchain.
<h2 id="what-the-attacker-still-holds">What the Attacker Still Holds</h2>
Lookonchain data, as relayed by TechFlow, shows the hacker holds about $9.2 million worth of altcoins that may face selling pressure. The largest position is 372.99 billion <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24PEPE&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$PEPE</a> (<a href="https://x.com/pepecoineth" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@pepecoineth</a>), valued at about $1.79 million.
The wallet also contains 12,820 <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24AAVE&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$AAVE</a> (<a href="https://x.com/aave" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@aave</a>) worth about $1.61 million and 769,950 <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24PENDLE&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$PENDLE</a> (<a href="https://x.com/pendle_fi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@pendle_fi</a>) worth about $1.35 million. It also holds 1.98 million <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24VIRTUAL&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$VIRTUAL</a> (<a href="https://x.com/virtuals_io" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@virtuals_io</a>), valued at about $1.15 million. Other positions include 29,830 EVA, 147,840 UNI and 2.67 million ONDO, each valued at between $1.03 million and $1.26 million.
The wallet additionally holds about $16.4 million worth of <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> and <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$BTC</a>. Odaily reported that all 106 BTC remained in addresses associated with the incident as of 16:42 UTC on Monday.
<h2 id="freezes-disputed-totals-and-the-exchange-s-position">Freezes, Disputed Totals and the Exchange's Position</h2>
More than $9 million in stolen assets has reportedly been frozen. Other sources give slightly different figures. The Block reported that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the issuer had frozen more than 4.5 million USDT linked to the incident. Chainalysis has said it helped freeze nearly $10 million and put the theft at about $49 million.
The loss estimates vary by source and methodology. Mercado Bitcoin has put the assets involved at about $38 million, with $11 million blocked through work with partners including Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1 and Chainalysis. A freeze stops tokens from moving but does not return funds to the exchange or its customers.
The exchange has said customers suffered no losses and no data was compromised. It paused deposits and withdrawals as a precaution while it investigates with authorities, as Protos reported. Security firms found no evidence of a smart contract exploit, and CertiK's Dickson Wu described activity that moved across several smaller blockchain networks before reaching the exchange's main hot wallets, according to GN Crypto.
The incident comes days after a separate large exchange theft. The Block noted that the breach followed a reported $6 billion hack of Binance. An Arkham analyst said the attacker was selling memecoins and other altcoins while sweeping older deposit addresses, which makes the remaining token balances a point of focus for traders.
Sources
<a href="https://www.theblock.co/news/defi/2026-11-02-mercado-bitcoin-hack-46-million-brazil-exchange-432333" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Block: Mercado Bitcoin hit by $46 million security breach</a> <a href="https://protos.com/mercado-bitcoin-hack-losses-are-at-46m-and-growing/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Protos: Mercado Bitcoin hack losses at $46M and growing</a> <a href="https://www.gncrypto.news/news/mercado-bitcoin-hack-drains-more-than-46-million-in-crypto/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">GN Crypto: Mercado Bitcoin hack drains more than $46 million in crypto</a>

Mercado Bitcoin Hack: Attacker Still Holds 372.99 Billion PEPE After $46 Million Breach

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