BitMart Founder Confirms Hack, Points to Mercado Bitcoin Attackers

BitMart has become the latest centralized platform to experience a security breach, contributing to a wave of digital asset thefts that have impacted the sector over the past year. Sheldon Xia, the founder of the exchange, verified via X that the security breach occurred on November 2—the identical day Brazil’s premier crypto exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, suffered a $48.6 million exploit. In a reply posted to the platform, Xia noted that preliminary findings suggest the intrusion was carried out by the identical perpetrators responsible for the Mercado Bitcoin incident.

While the stolen sum was relatively modest when measured against several massive incidents from recent months, Xia’s disclosures regarding the state of the exchange’s security amidst its wind-down process demand attention.

BitMart Was Hit 53 Minutes Before Mercado Bitcoin

Blockchain intelligence from Bitquery revealed that the malicious actor drained approximately $391,000 from wallets linked to BitMart across Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base. These fund movements commenced 53 minutes prior to the attacker targeting Mercado Bitcoin, pointing to the possibility that BitMart served as the initial target.

Nonetheless, Xia’s message omitted any mention of whether customer balances suffered any impact or if BitMart intends to reimburse the losses.

BitMart’s Security Team is Running Thin After the July Wind-Down

In July, BitMart announced it would wind down its exchange operations after nine years of service, culminating in a complete cessation of business scheduled for January 31, 2027. Ever since that announcement, the platform has operated with only a skeletal crew. Xia explained that this downsizing has placed the remaining staff under intense strain. His post detailed pressures including user doxxing, threats, and retaliation from former employees, specifically pointing to the company’s former head of marketing.

He added that these personal attacks have driven away technical personnel, leaving the security division “severely understaffed” precisely as incoming attacks persist.

Exchanges undergoing liquidation continue to manage user funds and data, creating attractive opportunities for malicious actors eager to exploit vulnerabilities. Furthermore, a reduced engineering workforce often translates to diminished oversight of hot wallets and sluggish detection of and response to security events.

Crypto Theft in 2026 Has Passed $8.77 Billion

The year 2026 marks the most damaging period on record for digital currency hacks and thefts. Figures compiled by DefiLlama indicate that total crypto exploits for the year have reached $8.776 billion, drastically outpacing all historical records and more than tripling the $2.715 billion pilfered during the previous year.

The vast majority of this year’s aggregate figure stems from the $6.3 billion Binance exploit that occurred the previous week, representing the largest single security breach the industry has ever encountered.

This fresh incident expands an ever-lengthening roster of centralized exchange compromises recorded this year, which includes platforms such as Binance, Bitget, and Mercado Bitcoin. If Xia’s assessment of the culprits holds true, a single hacking collective targeted two exchanges situated on separate continents within the same 24-hour window, beginning with the platform possessing the fewest defenders.

Xia maintains that the remaining personnel continue to exert maximum effort to protect assets and data. However, he stopped short of clarifying how much longer BitMart anticipates keeping its core infrastructure operational as the wind-down proceeds.

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