Blockstream Concedes Law Governs Coins Amid $47M Heist
A bug in Blockstream's Elements node allowed an attacker to mint around 3,998.5 L-BTC from nothing and peg them out as 3,996 real BTC on September 6, 2026.
The majority of the coins were recovered within a day, but about 598.5 BTC, worth around $47 million, remain missing.
In response, Blockstream published a letter stating that they would work with law enforcement, exchanges, and forensic specialists to recover the stolen assets.
This move has sparked debate on whether 'code is law' or if law governs the coins. Samson Mow, co-founder of Liquid, initially claimed that code was law but later clarified that it's an Ethereum marketing slogan with no basis in reality.
The incident highlights the need for a mechanism to enforce court orders on-chain, which currently does not exist for Bitcoin (BTC).