$320 Million Bitcoin Heist Rocks Liquid Network Settlement Platform
The Liquid Network, a Bitcoin-based settlement network used by cryptocurrency exchanges, was hit by an exploit that resulted in the withdrawal of around $320 million worth of bitcoin. The incident occurred when about 4,000 out of 4,200 bitcoin held in the federation wallet were taken by individuals who described themselves as 'white-hat hackers'.
The network, launched by Blockstream in 2018 and overseen by a federation of more than 80 exchanges, infrastructure firms, and asset managers, stated that it was working to restore normal operations. The exploit did not involve a compromised private key, but rather the funds were moved through SideSwap, an authorised platform used to facilitate transactions on Liquid.
The incident highlights the security risks facing crypto infrastructure as exchanges increasingly rely on blockchain networks and settlement layers to move large amounts of digital assets.