The article reports that a hacker executed a significant crypto heist, stealing thousands of bitcoins valued at approximately $340 million from a settlement exchange utilized by multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Liquid Network, a platform launched by Blockstream in 2018, disclosed on social media that a “white hat” hacker had exploited a vulnerability to withdraw funds from its wallet, prompting the company to suspend operations pending resolution of the incident.
According to crypto media reports cited in the article, the hacker allegedly exploited a bug to carry out the theft and subsequently communicated a conditional offer to return the stolen funds if Blockstream addressed the vulnerability. Former Blockstream executive Samson Mow later announced that the company had fixed the bug, resulting in the return of approximately 3,400 of the roughly 4,000 stolen bitcoins, leaving about 600 bitcoins (valued at around $47 million) still under the hacker’s control. Mow also indicated that Liquid Network’s operations would remain halted until further security enhancements are implemented before a restart is considered. The theft is noted as one of the largest digital fund heists to date, as tracked by the Rekt leaderboard. Source