Liquid Sidechain Paused Amidst $320M Bitcoin Heist

Liquid, a Bitcoin sidechain, has paused operations after hackers claiming to be 'white hats' withdrew around $320 million in BTC from its federation wallet.

The actors took approximately 95% of the wallet's 4,200 BTC balance, leaving most of it under their control until the funds are returned. According to Liquid, exchanges have halted or are preparing to halt L-BTC deposits and withdrawals, while other assets issued on the sidechain remain unaffected.

Blockstream, Liquid's technology provider, has been in communication with the actors through signed on-chain messages. The actors claim they will return most of the Bitcoin after the vulnerability is fixed and every node has installed the patch.