Liquid Network Hackers Return 3,400 Bitcoin; About 598.5 Bitcoin Remains
Summary
Nearly 4,000 bitcoin were withdrawn from Liquid’s federation wallet. About 3,400 were returned, while roughly 598.5 remained unreturned. The network was still paused as operators prepared to restart nodes.
Key points
- Nearly 4,000 bitcoin were withdrawn from the Liquid Network federation wallet on September 6.
- About 3,400 bitcoin were returned to a Liquid Federation address on September 7; roughly 598.5 bitcoin remained unreturned as of September 8.
- Blockstream said the Peg-out Authorization Key and other keys were not compromised.
- SideSwap said a bug in Elements created the L-BTC used in the withdrawal; the flaw was not publicly explained in the article.
- The actors claimed to be white hats and requested that the flaw be fixed and nodes patched before returning funds; their motives were disputed.
- Liquid remained paused, with public bridge nodes down as federation members prepared a coordinated restart.
- Blockstream said other Liquid-issued assets, including USDT and DePix, were unaffected.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- Liquid Network
- Incident Type
- Unauthorized withdrawal of bitcoin from the Liquid Network federation wallet, reportedly enabled by a bug in Elements.
- Incident Date
- 2026-09-06
- Operational Impact
- Liquid was paused, preventing holders from converting L-BTC back to bitcoin. As of September 8, public bridge nodes were down while federation members prepared a coordinated restart.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- The group reportedly asked for the flaw to be fixed and every node patched before returning funds. About 3,400 bitcoin were returned; approximately 598.5 bitcoin remained unreturned as of September 8. Whether the remaining funds were part of an agreement or constituted extortion was not established.
- Claim Status
- confirmed
People
Charles GuillemetLedger chief technology officer; rejected the group's white-hat description and said the reported arrangement could look like extortion.Samson MowJAN3 chief executive and former Blockstream executive; said Blockstream remained in contact with the group and put the amount not returned at about 598 bitcoin.
Vendors
Products
Elements#LiquidNetworkL-BTCThe Liquid Network suffered a major incident in which nearly 4,000 bitcoin were withdrawn from its federation wallet, prompting a pause of the sidechain and concern over L-BTC backing.Liquid NetworkThe Liquid Network suffered a major incident in which nearly 4,000 bitcoin were withdrawn from its federation wallet, prompting a pause of the sidechain and concern over L-BTC backing.