Nubank and Mercado Pago Halt Crypto Transfers After Provider Outage
Nubank and Mercado Pago, two of Brazil’s biggest crypto apps, paused crypto deposits and withdrawals on Friday, November 6, 2026, after a failure at an outside provider. Buying and selling inside the apps still works, and both companies say customer money and data are safe.
What happened
Nubank, Brazil’s largest digital bank, told users its crypto deposits and withdrawals were temporarily unavailable. The bank blamed instability at an external data provider. Nubank has about 120 million customers in Brazil.
Mercado Pago, the payments arm of MercadoLibre, blocked some transfers to external wallets and warned that incoming deposits could also face delays. It pointed to an incident at a risk monitoring and anti-money laundering service provider.
Neither company named the provider involved, and it is not clear whether both were hit by the same provider. Neither company gave a time for when transfers will return. Transfers will resume once the provider’s service is fixed, according to the companies.
Trading inside the apps kept working. Customers can still buy and sell crypto for reais inside Nubank’s app, but they cannot move coins to a wallet outside the app until the service returns. The same applies to the affected transfers at Mercado Pago.
Why it matters for beginners
This is a useful lesson in the difference between trading crypto and moving crypto. Buying and selling inside an app is one service. Sending coins to a wallet outside the app is another service, and it depends on outside checks that screen transfers. When that outside service fails, the move function can stop even while trading carries on.
A pause like this is not the same as a hack or a loss. Both companies said client funds remain secure and other crypto products keep working. No theft was reported in this incident. Still, it shows why it matters to know whether you can move your crypto out quickly, not only whether you can buy it.
Crypto has had a rough run of headlines in the same week. Binance, the world’s largest exchange, said about $6.3 billion was stolen in the biggest crypto hack on record, and the US Treasury moved to cut exchange MEXC off from American banks over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows. The Nubank and Mercado Pago outage is a technical failure, not a hack, but it adds to the sense that crypto platforms can stop working at short notice.
What to watch next
Watch for the companies to say transfers are working again, and whether they name the provider behind the failure. Watch whether other platforms report similar problems, since several firms can share the same screening providers. In the same week, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said attackers had accessed credentials on its platform. Neither Nubank nor Mercado Pago has said the two events are connected, so treat that as an open question, not a cause.
Watch too whether regulators in Brazil ask questions about how much the apps depend on a single outside provider for a basic service like withdrawals.
FAQ
Can I still buy or sell crypto on Nubank or Mercado Pago?
Yes. Buying and selling inside the apps kept working. Only deposits and withdrawals, the movement of crypto in and out of the apps, were paused or delayed.
Is my money safe?
Both companies say client funds and information remain protected and that the problem is not in their own systems. No loss of customer funds was reported. Follow official notices from the companies for updates.
When will transfers return?
No timeline was given. Nubank said transfers will resume once the external provider’s service is restored. Mercado Pago gave no restoration time either.
Does this affect users outside Brazil?
The notices concern the apps’ crypto services in Brazil, where Nubank has about 120 million customers. No disruption outside Brazil was reported.
Sources
- Reuters, “Nubank, Mercado Pago halt crypto transfers after external provider disruption”, November 6, 2026. https://985theriver.com/2026/11/06/nubank-halts-crypto-withdrawals-deposits-after-external-provider-disruption/
- PYMNTS, “Nubank, Mercado Pago Pause Crypto Operations Following Provider Issues”, November 6, 2026. https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2026/nubank-mercado-pago-pause-crypto-operations-following-provider-issues/
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
