Bitcoin News
By James Thorp
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The Ransom Demand and Blockstream's Answer. The hackers didn't disappear quietly. They sent an on-chain message — the kind of move that's…
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What the 85% Collateral Problem Actually Means. Liquid isn't just some obscure testnet. It's a real sidechain with real Bitcoin locked inside it,…
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Blockstream won't pay. Full stop. After hackers drained nearly the entire federation wallet on its Liquid Network sidechain, the company got most of it back — but 598 Bitcoin are…
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The breach started September 6. Self-described white-hat hackers exploited Liquid, Blockstream's Bitcoin sidechain, and pulled roughly 4,000 Bitcoin out of the federation wallet.
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598 Bitcoin. Still missing. No timeline.
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The hackers didn't disappear quietly. They sent an on-chain message — the kind of move that's become almost theatrical in crypto security incidents — warning that Liquid holders…
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Blockstream's answer was no. The company called it theft, not responsible disclosure — a pretty important distinction in the world of bug bounties and white-hat hacking, where…
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And it won't budge. The company said it's engaging with law enforcement and forensic specialists to track the missing Bitcoin and figure out who's behind the exploit.
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The refusal is deliberate. Pay once, and every future hacker with access to a vulnerable bridge node knows there's a negotiation to be had.
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Read also: Blockstream Stands Firm Against Ransom as 598 Bitcoin Remains with Liquid Network Hackers
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Liquid isn't just some obscure testnet. It's a real sidechain with real Bitcoin locked inside it, used by exchanges and traders who want faster settlement and more privacy than…
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The emergency software update — Elements v23.3.4 — patched the vulnerability that made the exploit possible.
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Restoring full collateralization means getting those 598 Bitcoin back. That's the only real path to re-enabling peg-outs.
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The hackers taking nearly 95% of the federation wallet in a single exploit is the kind of number that makes security researchers wince.
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More context: Bitcoin Suisse Relocates 60 Swiss Jobs to Bratislava and Vietnam for Cost-Cutting Expansion
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