Blockstream Confronted by Hackers Over Security Failures and Bounty Demands
The ongoing dispute between Blockstream and the party claiming to be white-hat hackers has escalated, with the hackers accusing the company of serious security failures. The hackers took $320 million in BTC from Liquid's Federation wallet on September 6, initially claiming they would return the funds once Blockstream fixed the issue.
However, after Blockstream confirmed the bridge nodes had been patched and returned 3,400 BTC to the Federation wallet, the hackers demanded a 10% bounty from Blockstream's own funds. They warned that failure to comply could result in a 15% loss for Liquid users.
The hackers also accused Blockstream of being 'delusional, greedy, and arrogant' over its handling of security. Meanwhile, Liquid has kept the sidechain paused as Blockstream and Federation members work on further security fixes and prepare for a coordinated restart.