Nubank and Mercado Pago Halt Crypto Transfers After an Outside Provider Fails

Brazilian digital lender Nubank and Mercado Pago, the fintech arm of MercadoLibre, halted some cryptocurrency transfers on Friday due to disruptions from an external data provider, the companies said in separate statements.

Nubank halted crypto withdrawals and deposits, citing "instability from an external data provider." The bank said the issue is not related to its own infrastructure and does not compromise customer security. "All assets and information remain protected," Nubank said, adding that it is working to restore the services.

Mercado Pago blocked some transfers to external wallets as a precaution and warned that deposits could face delays, citing "an incident affecting a risk monitoring and anti-money laundering service provider."

Neither company identified the provider behind the disruption, and it was unclear whether both firms were affected by the same provider. Both stressed that no hack occurred.

The disruption was limited in scope. Nubank said its other crypto products — including buying and selling cryptocurrencies inside the app — kept working normally. Mercado Pago likewise said buying and selling continued, with only some transfers affected.

Nubank, which has about 120 million customers in Brazil, did not say how many customers were impacted or when full service would return, saying only that transfers would resume once the supplier's service was restored.

The incident comes in a tense week for crypto in Latin America. It follows the record $6.3 billion heist at Binance and a security incident at Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange, which identified and contained an intrusion earlier in the week.

Sources

• Channel News Asia (Reuters) — Nubank, Mercado Pago halt crypto transfers after external provider disruption