Liquid Network resumes block production after $320 million Bitcoin withdrawal incident
The Liquid network has restarted its main function following a major exploit where approximately 4,000 BTC were stolen. Block operations resumed without transactions while the network monitors for full stabilization.
Liquid Network announced on Thursday that it had resumed block production after an incident involving roughly $320 million in Bitcoin withdrawals. Approximately 4,000 BTC, representing about 95% of the federation wallet's balance, were moved out following a software vulnerability. Operators confirmed that actors who withdrew these funds later returned 3,400 BTC worth about $270 million after affected bridge nodes were updated. Blockstream verified that necessary fixes to functionary and bridge nodes had been deployed and were currently signing and validating blocks. Although block creation has restarted, the network stated that transactions and peg operations remain suspended to ensure full stabilization. An emergency update for the Elements software, version 23.3.4, was released earlier this week to address the proof-verification cache vulnerability linked to the theft. The reserve of BTC to L-BTC continues to be restored while operations run in a restricted mode.
