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Mercado Bitcoin hacker moves $8M in ETH: Is Tornado Cash next?
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Nov 03, 2026
The hacker behind the $46 million Mercado Bitcoin breach has transferred approximately $8 million worth of Ethereum to new wallets, while blockchain investigators have identified more than $9 million in stolen assets that have been frozen.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham reported the latest transfers on November 3, raising questions about where the stolen cryptocurrency could move next as investigators continue tracking the funds across multiple networks.
The attacker still controls a cryptocurrency portfolio valued at roughly $46 million, according to Arkham’s latest wallet data. The platform questioned whether the transferred ETH could eventually be sent to Tornado Cash, although no such deposit was confirmed in its update.
The new transactions follow the November 2 attack on Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which affected wallets across at least ten blockchains and prompted the temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals.
Mercado Bitcoin hacker moves ETH while retaining millions in altcoins
According to Arkham’s transaction records, the attacker has been distributing stolen Ethereum between several addresses associated with the breach.
The latest activity includes a transfer of approximately 2,900 ETH, valued at $6.52 million, alongside smaller transactions involving 470 ETH and 200 ETH. The movements form part of the roughly $8 million in ETH transfers highlighted by the analytics firm.
Although Arkham raised the possibility of Tornado Cash being used, the transfers shown in its update involved wallets attributed to the attacker.
Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency mixing protocol that can make it more difficult to trace the relationship between sending and receiving addresses. The destination of the transferred ETH remains an important part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, blockchain tracking platform Lookonchain reported that the attacker continues to hold several altcoins worth more than $1 million each, including approximately 372.99 billion PEPE tokens valued at $1.79 million.
Over $9 million in stolen cryptocurrency frozen
Efforts to restrict access to the stolen assets have resulted in nearly $10 million being frozen through coordination between blockchain investigators, law enforcement and cryptocurrency issuers.
In a November 2 report, blockchain analytics company Chainalysis said its investigators worked directly with Mercado Bitcoin after the exchange reported the security incident.
The company contacted law enforcement within 30 minutes of identifying addresses containing assets that could potentially be frozen.
Chainalysis said its investigation involved coordination with Tether, Paxos, Circle, Ripple and Anchorage Digital to identify and restrict stolen assets where possible.
According to the company, Tether subsequently froze more than $9 million in assets linked to the attack, following the identification of wallets containing stolen funds.
The initial response had already secured approximately $4 million in stablecoins before further freezes were carried out over the following hours.
Despite those actions, a substantial portion of the stolen cryptocurrency remains under the attacker’s control, with investigators continuing to monitor transfers and identify additional assets that may be recoverable.
Sources >> Mercado Bitcoin hacker moves $8M in ETH: Is Tornado Cash next?
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