liquid network3 articles
Liquid Network Hackers Return Most of the $320M Bitcoin They Nicked, Hold Rest as Leverage
Hackers stole approximately 4,000 Bitcoin (~$320 million) from the Blockstream-developed Bitcoin sidechain Liquid Network by draining its federation wallet, prompting the suspension of all network transactions. The alleged "white-hat" hackers returned 3,400 Bitcoin (~$262.6 million) after urging Liquid to patch the underlying vulnerability, with around 598 Bitcoin (~$47 million) still outstanding. The network remains paused while Blockstream and federation members work on security fixes and prepare for a safe restart.
Liquid Hackers Give Back Most of the Bitcoin, Keep $47M as Apparent 'Fee'
Hackers exploited a bug in the Elements software underlying the Liquid Network sidechain to withdraw nearly 4,000 bitcoin (~$320M) from its federation wallet on September 6. The following day, the group — claiming to be white hats — returned 3,400 bitcoin (~$265M) after Blockstream confirmed its nodes had been patched, but approximately 598.5 bitcoin (~$47M) remains unreturned. While Blockstream says it is still in contact with the group and is preparing to restart the network, critics such as Ledger's CTO have questioned the white-hat label, suggesting the retained funds may amount to extortion.
Someone Just Walked Off With 95% of Liquid Network's Bitcoin and Wants a Pat on the Back
Hackers drained approximately 4,000 BTC ($320 million) from the Liquid Network's federation wallet, representing around 95% of its holdings, while claiming to be white-hat security researchers. The individuals communicated via on-chain messages, asking Blockstream to contact them and promising to return "most" of the Bitcoin once the underlying vulnerability is patched. The exact method used to drain the wallet remains under investigation, as no Peg-out Authorization Keys appear to have been compromised.