Hackers take $320M from Bitcoin network, claim good intent

Liquid Network is a Bitcoin sidechain used by exchanges to move bitcoin quickly. On Sept. 6, it paused all transactions. About 4,000 bitcoin, worth roughly $320 million, had left its reserve wallet. Bitcoin Magazine reports a bug let the attackers create tokens that shouldn't exist. They cashed those out for real bitcoin, then left an on-chain message calling themselves white hats.

White hat is the term for a hacker who breaks in to expose a flaw, not to steal. Real white hats usually work with a company, or at least warn it first. This time, Blockstream didn't get a warning. It got a $320 million hole and a note after the fact. That order matters. Taking the money first and explaining later isn't how responsible disclosure normally works. It's also possible the note is just cover, a theft dressed up in friendlier language.

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Will Blockstream get the bitcoin back? So far, there's no sign of that. Exchanges use sidechains like this one because they're supposed to be faster and safer than moving bitcoin directly. A $320 million exploit undercuts that pitch, whatever the attacker's intentions turn out to be.