Tether Freezes $4.5M USDT After Mercado Bitcoin Security Incident
Tether has frozen over $4.5 million USDT following a security breach at Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
Tether has frozen over $4.5 million USDT following a security breach at Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at ₹73,34,664 ($77,140.00), down 0.4% since this brief published. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 3 outlets (Crypto.news, AMBCrypto, Unchained), plus live market data, as of Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:30:01 UTC.
The freeze demonstrates Tether's ability to act swiftly in response to security incidents, protecting user funds and maintaining market integrity. It also highlights the risks associated with centralized exchanges and the importance of security measures.
- Tether froze $4.5M USDT linked to Mercado Bitcoin's security breach.
- Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits/withdrawals during investigation.
- USDT market cap remains at $179.94B despite the incident.
Crypto.news reports that Tether froze over $4.5 million USDT following a security incident at Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin on November 2. The exchange has suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating suspicious fund movements. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the freeze, demonstrating the company's proactive approach to security incidents. No other outlets have reported on this specific incident, so the details cannot be corroborated.
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- Tether Freezes $4.5M USDT After Mercado Bitcoin Security Incident — this brief
Tether has taken action following a security breach at Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado 
Bitcoin, freezing over $4.5 million USDT. The incident occurred on November 2, prompting Mercado Bitcoin to suspend both deposits and withdrawals as it investigates suspicious fund movements.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced the freeze, showcasing the company's commitment to maintaining market integrity and protecting user funds. This incident highlights the risks associated with centralized exchanges and the importance of robust security measures.
The freeze comes at a time when Tether's USDT remains one of the most stable and widely used stablecoins in the market. Despite the incident, the USDT circulating supply remains at $181.14 billion, according to DeFiLlama, with the token's price holding steady at $0.999014.
The broader crypto market remains relatively flat, with a total market cap of $2.67 trillion. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is currently trading at $38,488, down 0.56% in the last 24 hours. The overall market sentiment, as measured by the Fear & Greed Index, remains in 'Fear' territory at 37.
Since this brief published about 2 hours ago, Bitcoin (BTC) has moved from ₹73,67,752.30$77,488.00 to ₹73,34,663.59$77,140.00 — -0.45%.
The chart plots BTC's price: grey is the move before this brief published, the vertical dashed line marks the moment it published, the horizontal dashed line is the price then, and the coloured area is the move since — from Token Times's market data (daily resolution). It shows what happened after the news, not that the news caused it; many factors move prices. Not financial advice.
Will Bitcoin reach $80,000 in November?
Crowd-implied probability on Polymarket, ₹30.88M 24h volume, resolves Dec 1 — snapshotted when this brief published (Nov 2 16:05 UTC). A market price reflects what traders collectively expect; it is not a forecast by Token Times and will have moved since. View the market ↗
At today's peer-to-peer rate, 1 BTC ≈ ₹8.06M (about $77,140.00), down 1.1% over 24 hours. The rupee itself trades about 9.9% above the official rate on the P2P market, so a Indian buyer's effective cost differs from the headline dollar price.
Live market data
Current prices for the assets in this story — live, source-stamped, updated every 15 minutes.
Figures and sectors in this story, checked live against on-chain aggregators · November 2, 2026.
Token Times reads these figures directly from on-chain aggregators (DeFiLlama, mempool.space) at build time — independent of what any outlet reported. Sector totals aggregate every protocol DeFiLlama tracks in that category. Values are live and will change.
Tether Freezes $4.5M USDT After Mercado Bitcoin Security Inc — questions & answers
What is Tether's role in the Mercado Bitcoin incident?
Tether froze over $4.5 million USDT linked to the incident to prevent potential misuse of funds.
How did Mercado Bitcoin respond to the security breach?
The exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals to investigate suspicious fund movements.
What is the current status of USDT?
USDT's circulating supply is $181.14 billion, with its price at $0.999014.
How much is 1 Bitcoin worth in rupee today?
About ₹8.06M at the live peer-to-peer (P2P) USDT rate, which is what Indians typically trade at — equivalent to roughly $77,140.00. The rupee price moves with both BTC's US-dollar price and the USDT/INR rate; use our Bitcoin in rupee page for any amount.
Has Bitcoin's price moved since this brief was published?
BTC is down 0.45% since this brief first published — trading at ₹73,34,664 ($77,140.00) now versus ₹73,67,752 ($77,488.00) at publication. Token Times re-checks this figure against CoinGecko and Binance every 15 minutes.
Which outlets reported this story?
This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Crypto.news, AMBCrypto, Unchained, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.
Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.