Liquid ‘white hats’ return $270M in Bitcoin as network prepares restart
The actors returned 85% of the Bitcoin withdrawn from Liquid’s federation wallet following the security incident.
Security researchers, identified as white-hat hackers, returned approximately 3,400 Bitcoin, worth around $270 million, to the Liquid network's federation wallet following a recent security incident. The actors withdrew roughly $320 million from the Bitcoin sidechain's reserves, transferring 85% of the withdrawn Bitcoin back to the federation wallet.
Liquid's CEO Samson Mow confirmed that the return occurred after Blockstream verified that the affected bridge nodes had been patched. About 598 BTC remains unaccounted for, and Blockstream continues to collaborate with the actors. The network, which issues L-BTC pegged to Bitcoin held in its federation, is preparing for a coordinated restart.
The original withdrawal was executed through SideSwap's Peg-out Authorization Key, which was not compromised. Liquid has since paused operations while Blockstream and federation members implement further security measures, resolve a chain split, and prepare for a safe restart.
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