Blockstream Declines Ransom for Remaining Bitcoin from Liquid Network Incident
- Blockstream will not pay a ransom for approximately 598.5 BTC, valued at around $47 million, following the September 6 Liquid Network incident.
- After recovering 3,400 BTC, Blockstream stated it would involve law enforcement if the remaining funds are not returned voluntarily.
- A group claiming to be “white hats” demanded a reward of 10% of the withdrawn amount, asserting that Liquid Network users could face losses of around 15%.
- The incident involved a vulnerability in Elements software that allowed the creation of fake L-BTC tokens used to withdraw real bitcoin.
- The Liquid Network temporarily halted operations post-incident and resumed block production on September 10 after deploying an emergency update.
Blockstream’s refusal to pay the ransom highlights its stance against what it terms theft rather than ethical hacking practices. The company is prepared to collaborate with law enforcement and blockchain forensics if necessary.
In total, about 4,000 BTC, worth roughly $320 million, was withdrawn during the incident, with only 598.5 BTC still unreturned as Blockstream seeks recovery options.
