BitMart Reports Breach, Points to Suspects in Mercado Bitcoin Attackers

The cryptocurrency exchange BitMart has confirmed a second breach of its security systems on November 2, with its initial findings showing that the same hackers may be behind the latest hack of Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin. Sheldon Xia, founder of BitMart, made the following statement on X on November 3 regarding the breach. “Yes, we got hacked yesterday too,” he stated, adding that the amount hacked was tiny and that they were able to investigate the breach immediately and improve their security measures. 

Blockchain Investigators Trace Suspicious Transfers Between Wallets Linked to Both Exchanges

The statement came after blockchain transactions revealed that funds had been moved from accounts related to BitMart to one related to the Mercado Bitcoin breach. This disclosure is being made in light of the BitMart restructuring that has been ongoing since its decision to stop trading in August, which has faced problems with customer withdrawals and financial troubles. According to Xia, the initial investigation by BitMart shows that the hackers behind the November 2 hack of BitMart could be the same people who attacked Mercado Bitcoin. This is because the Brazilian exchange was hacked on the same day in an elaborate security attack. 

The blockchain researchers also identified suspicious transfers across multiple networks. The Bitquery blockchain analysis platform later found transactions in which wallets connected to BitMart had participated before the Mercado Bitcoin hack. In its on-chain investigation, Bitquery estimated that approximately $391,000 (roughly Rs. 3.6 crore) had been drained from wallets mostly linked to BitMart, beginning around 53 minutes before the larger attack. 

Another user, NeyLong, pointed out the transfer between BitMart wallets and the one holding assets from the Brazilian exchange. Several types of cryptocurrency were involved in those exchanges, and the activity in wallets gave early signs that the two thefts may be related. The loss amounts suffered by BitMart and the way in which hackers penetrated their wallet have not been disclosed by the exchange.

BitMart shut down its trading facilities on August 26, and its operation will come to a close on January 31, 2027. According to the shutdown process that was laid out, BitMart has ceased taking any new users or deposits, and futures trading has entered reduced-only mode and closed spot order books. According to data from CoinGecko, the native token of BitMart, BMX, has witnessed a depreciation of more than 70 percent in value due to reports of delays in the withdrawal of tokens by users of the platform.