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Cyber Attack & Data Breach · securityweek.com

Liquid Network Says Alleged Hackers Returned 3,400 Bitcoin After $320 Million Theft

· Original article ↗

Summary

About 3,400 of the 4,000 Bitcoin stolen from Liquid Network’s federation wallet were returned by alleged “white-hat” hackers. The network remains paused while Blockstream and federation members make security fixes; about 598 Bitcoin remains outstanding.

Key points

  • About 4,000 Bitcoin, worth approximately $320 million at the time, were stolen from Liquid Network’s federation wallet.
  • Liquid disabled its nodes and suspended transactions after the theft; LBTC deposits and withdrawals were paused or set to pause at exchanges.
  • Liquid said the funds were withdrawn via the SideSwap PAK, but said that key and other keys were not compromised. The theft method remains unclear.
  • Alleged “white-hat” hackers said they would return most of the funds after Liquid fixed the vulnerability they claimed led to the theft.
  • On Monday, 3,400 Bitcoin, worth approximately $262.6 million, was returned; about 598 Bitcoin, worth approximately $47 million, remained outstanding.
  • The network remained paused while Blockstream and federation members worked on security fixes, resolving a chain split, and preparing for a safe restart.
  • Liquid said other assets, including USDT, DePix, and RWAs, were unaffected by the incident.

Article Details

Victim Organization
Liquid Network
Incident Type
Cryptocurrency theft from the federation wallet
Operational Impact
Liquid disabled its nodes and paused all transactions. LBTC deposits and withdrawals were paused or scheduled to be paused at exchanges; Liquid wallets and services were affected. The network remained paused while fixes and security improvements were made and a chain split was resolved.
Ransom Or Extortion
No ransom demand is reported. The alleged hackers said they would return most of the stolen funds after Liquid fixed the vulnerability; 3,400 Bitcoin was returned, while approximately 598 Bitcoin remained outstanding.
Claim Status
unknown

People

Samson MowFormer Blockstream executive who reported that approximately 598 Bitcoin remained outstanding after 3,400 Bitcoin was returned.

Products

Liquid NetworkAlleged ‘white-hat’ hackers have returned 3,400 Bitcoin (worth approximately $262.6 million) of the 4,000 Bitcoin (~$320 million) stolen from the Bitcoin sidechain Liquid Network over the weekend.SideSwap PAK“What we know so far is that the funds were withdrawn via the SideSwap PAK (Peg-out Authorization Key), but that key was not compromised, nor were any others,” Liquid said.