Two of Latin America’s largest fintech companies, Nubank and Mercado Pago, suspended cryptocurrency transfers on November 6 due to issues with external technology providers. The interruptions highlighted how digital asset services remain dependent on third-party infrastructure for essential operations.
Nubank Resumes Crypto Services as Mercado Pago Recovery Lags
Nubank, a Brazil-based digital bank with millions of users, halted cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals after identifying instability in an external data provider’s system. The company clarified that the issue did not originate from its own infrastructure, and customer assets as well as personal information remained secure during this period.
Throughout the disruption, Nubank’s other digital asset products continued to operate. By 10 p.m. local time on November 6, the bank restored full functionality for deposits and withdrawals, but declined to name the affected provider.
Nubank explained that during the outage, customer funds stayed protected and only cryptocurrency transfer services were impacted. The company stated it had resumed normal operations but refrained from disclosing the provider involved in the incident.
Mercado Pago, the financial services arm of e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, encountered a more specific issue related to a service provider responsible for transaction risk monitoring and anti-money laundering measures. With this provider offline, Mercado Pago temporarily restricted some transfers to external wallets as a preventative step. The company also cautioned customers that incoming deposits could face delays but assured that any pending funds would be automatically credited once service was normalized.
As of the latest updates on November 7, Mercado Pago had not formally confirmed the restoration of full crypto transfer services.
Third-Party Providers Expose Critical Weak Points
Neither Nubank nor Mercado Pago identified the external provider at the root of their respective service disruptions. Although both companies have previously partnered with Paxos for cryptocurrency infrastructure, there is no indication that this particular incident involved that company.
The technical outages revealed how cryptocurrency services at large institutions can remain inaccessible for customers, even while public blockchain networks continue operating normally. Platform operators frequently rely on external vendors for transaction screening, compliance, and digital asset custody. If any part of this critical infrastructure fails, institutions may halt or limit transfers to prevent potential risks or compliance violations.
Mini dictionary: Mercado Pago—This is the digital payments and financial services division of MercadoLibre, Latin America’s largest e-commerce company. Mercado Pago offers cryptocurrency buying, selling, and transfer services across several countries in the region.
Such interruptions have been acknowledged as risks in MercadoLibre’s official filings, which warn that outages affecting partners may prevent customers from using trading, custody, or transfer functions on their platforms.
Recent Crypto Sector Setbacks in Brazil
These provider-related service interruptions occurred during a period of increased volatility for crypto infrastructure in Brazil. On November 2, Mercado Bitcoin, one of the country’s largest crypto exchanges, suffered a security breach resulting in around $48.5 million in suspicious transfers. Investigators continue to examine the incident.
Just days earlier, Binance, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, experienced a major security hack involving $6.3 billion, prompting a temporary suspension of withdrawals before restoring most services on November 1.
The recent incidents have raised concerns about the sector’s reliance on third-party providers for transaction safety, compliance, and customer access.
| Company | Service Suspension Date | Service Restored | Nature of Outage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nubank | Nov 6 | Nov 6, late evening | External data provider disruption |
| Mercado Pago | Nov 6 | Not confirmed as of Nov 7 | Risk/AML provider disruption |
| Mercado Bitcoin | Nov 2 | Not specified | Security breach, $48.5M in suspicious transfers |
| Binance | Late Oct | Nov 1 (gradual) | Security incident, $6.3B hack |
