Mercado Bitcoin vows to repay users after hack

A Brazilian crypto exchange just promised to do what most hacked platforms don't: pay everyone back in full. Mercado Bitcoin will let customers see their accounts again starting Nov. 9. That's two days after a hacker drained its hot wallets across roughly 10 blockchains on Nov. 2. Estimates of the theft ranged from about $36 million to $46 million. The exchange says none of that comes out of customers' pockets.

That promise is the real story here. When exchanges get hacked, users often wait months or years to see any money back, if they ever do. Mercado Bitcoin says it will cover the full loss itself. Nov. 9's reopening is only view-only access, though. You can look at your balance, not touch it. Trading and withdrawals come back only after each system passes its own security check. The real test of that promise is still ahead.

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Will Mercado Bitcoin actually make good on paying everyone back, or will the number keep growing the longer investigators dig? Crypto hacks this year have run into the billions industry-wide, and most victims never see a full refund. If this exchange follows through, it becomes one of the rare counterexamples.