BitMart has reported a small security breach while it works through a court-supervised restructuring. The Cayman Islands-based exchange said the incident took place on November 2, 2026. Founder Sheldon Xia confirmed it in a post on X the next day. He described it as a limited event with a small amount of funds taken. That framing may be fair in relative terms, but the timing is awkward.
What was taken
Research cited in the report says attackers drained about $391,000 from BitMart wallets on three networks: Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. All three are Ethereum layer-2 networks. Xia said the exchange opened an investigation right away and moved to tighten defenses. He also noted a harder problem. The security team has been understaffed during the restructuring. That is not the kind of issue a quick patch solves.
Possible link to Mercado Bitcoin
The BitMart case may not be isolated. On-chain analysis reportedly ties it to a larger attack on Mercado Bitcoin. The research says attackers hit BitMart wallets about 53 minutes before they struck Mercado Bitcoin. Losses at Mercado Bitcoin were far larger, around $48.6 million. The link comes from on-chain data, not a formal attribution. I think that distinction matters. It is a working theory, not a confirmed finding.
A wind-down already under way
BitMart was not running at full strength when the attack landed. The exchange announced its wind-down on July 26, 2026, and halted trading by August 26, 2026. Since then, it has been working through a repayment plan for users under court supervision. Users have also complained about withdrawal issues. Every dollar lost now is a dollar that cannot go toward that plan.
The 2021 shadow
This is not BitMart’s first security failure. In December 2021, hackers drained hot wallets on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. Estimated losses ranged from $150 million to $196 million. Restructuring documents reportedly note a projected shortfall of $319.5 million based on 2021 pricing. The current restructuring has been partly attributed to that older incident, according to the research.
For creditors, the immediate question is whether the new $391,000 loss affects the timeline or terms of repayment. For other exchanges, the reported Mercado Bitcoin link is the more important thread. If one group probed BitMart before hitting a much larger target, other centralized platforms may want to review exposure across Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. The BitMart investigation and any formal attribution are the next things to watch.
