Blockstream rejects ransom demand to recover nearly 600 BTC stolen from Liquid Network
Hackers holding almost 600 Bitcoin have been told their ransom demands are theft. Blockstream refuses to pay a bounty while investigating and preparing legal action.
Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream confirmed it will not pay a ransom to recover funds currently held by attackers of the Liquid Network. The organization stated on Friday that taking assets without authorization constitutes theft rather than responsible disclosure. On Wednesday, former strategy officer Samson Mow shared an onchain message demanding a 10% bounty from Blockstream's own funds. The group warned Liquid holders would otherwise face a 15% loss. Blockstream urged the actors to return the remaining Bitcoin voluntarily, adding that failure to comply might result in cooperation with law enforcement and forensic specialists. This follows an incident beginning on September 6 when self-described white-hat hackers withdrew approximately 4,000 Bitcoin valued at roughly $320 million from a federation wallet after the network paused operations. Hackers subsequently returned about 3,400 BTC following patching of affected bridge nodes. Approximately 598 BTC remain outstanding as of Friday. Liquid resumed block production on Thursday using emergency software updates, though transactions and transfers into and out of the network remained suspended.
