Liquid Network

Summary

Liquid Network reported that a white hat hacker exploited a bug to withdraw thousands of bitcoins worth about $340 million from its wallet, prompting the platform to pause operations. The hacker said they would return the funds if the vulnerability was fixed, and after Blockstream patched the flaw, roughly 3,400 of the approximately 4,000 stolen bitcoins were returned, leaving about 600 bitcoins valued at around $47 million still under the hacker’s control. Operations remain halted while additional fixes and security improvements are implemented before restarting.

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TTPs

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Description

A hacker stole thousands of bitcoins worth about $340 million in a heist at a settlement exchange used by several cryptocurrency exchanges, representing one of the largest known thefts of crypto this year. Liquid Network, which was launched in 2018 by the crypto firm Blockstream, announced in a post on X on Sunday that a “white hat” hacker had taken the funds from the network’s wallet. The company said it had paused operations while the incident was being resolved. The theft was described as one of the biggest digital‑fund heists to date.

Although the identity of the hacker remains unknown, crypto media reports indicate that the attacker allegedly exploited a bug to withdraw the funds. The hacker reportedly stated that they would return the stolen bitcoins if Blockstream fixed the vulnerability. This condition was communicated publicly after the theft was discovered.

Former Blockstream executive Samson Mow later posted on X on Monday that the bug had been fixed and that approximately 3,400 of the roughly 4,000 stolen bitcoins had been returned, leaving about 600 bitcoins, valued at around $47 million, still under the hacker’s control. Mow said that operations would stay paused until additional fixes and security improvements were implemented before restarting. The incident is ranked among the largest heists of digital funds according to the Rekt leaderboard, which tracks cryptocurrency thefts.

Sources

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