Liquid Hackers Return $270M in Bitcoin After Swiping $320 Million

JUST IN: Hackers return $270M in Bitcoin to Liquid after swiping $320M, with nearly 600 BTC still outstanding, after Blockstream told them the bridge nodes had been patched.

Hackers who drained four thousand Bitcoin from the Liquid Network just gave most of it back. About 3,400 BTC, roughly 270 million dollars, landed back in the federation wallet on Monday. That's 85 percent of the haul, returned by people calling themselves white hat hackers, which is a generous title for anyone who takes 320 million first and negotiates second.

The handover came after Blockstream, the company behind Liquid, posted a signed on-chain message telling the attackers the bridge nodes had been patched. Once the hole was closed, the coins started moving home. Funny how cooperative people get when the exploit stops working.

But nearly 600 BTC is still sitting in the attackers' address, about 47 million dollars worth, and Liquid hasn't said when normal operations resume. So call it a rescue with a service fee nobody agreed to. Forty seven million is a lot of white in that hat.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.