Binance and Mercado Bitcoin Suffer Major Crypto Hacks
Binance lost $6.3 billion in a record heist and Mercado Bitcoin lost $40 million as hackers target major cryptocurrency exchanges.
A series of major security breaches have hit the cryptocurrency industry, led by a record $6.3 billion theft from Binance on October 29, 2026. The Federal Bureau of Investigations attributed the heist to the North Korean group TraderTraitor. Attackers exploited a 2025 Ethereum upgrade feature to empty wallets via Binance's internal systems. In response, Binance set aside over $6.3 billion of its own capital to restore customer balances and has since replenished approximately 95% of the affected assets.
On November 3, 2026, Mercado Bitcoin, the largest exchange in Brazil, reported a separate security breach resulting in a $40 million loss. Attackers used compromised signing keys to target hot wallets across 10 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum. Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals as a precaution, stating it will absorb the financial loss and that no customer funds or data were compromised.
Stablecoin issuers played a critical role in mitigating losses across both events. Tether and Circle Internet Group froze more than $1.5 billion in USDT and $800 million in USD Coin, respectively, shortly after the Binance breach. Following the Mercado Bitcoin incident, Tether froze an additional 4.5 million USDT. The Binance hack triggered immediate market volatility, causing Bitcoin to fall 5.6% and BNB to drop 6.2% within 24 hours, while the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission is now using the event to advocate for federal supervision of offshore exchanges.
