Tether freezes over $4.5m USDT linked to Mercado Bitcoin breach

Tether froze more than 4.5 million USDT linked to Mercado Bitcoin’s Nov. 2 security incident, as the Brazilian exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating suspicious fund movements. Summary Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the freeze of more than 4.5 million USDT. Mercado Bitcoin said it contained the incident, with no customer harm or data breach. Deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended while the exchange investigated and tracked affected assets. The exchange published destination addresses across five blockchain categories to support tracking efforts. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced the freeze while sharing Mercado Bitcoin’s official statement about the breach. His announcement provided a specific amount of USDT blocked in connection with the incident, following reports of suspicious outflows exceeding $40 million. “Tether froze more than 4.5M USDT related to this security incident,” Ardoino wrote. The announcement described a freeze, without saying the tokens had been returned to Mercado Bitcoin. The exchange’s own updates focused on containing the incident, tracing assets and restoring operations safely. Mercado Bitcoin suspends transfers af...