01
A Bitcoin sidechain called Liquid Network lost about 320 million dollars to a software bug, not a stolen key.
02
On September 6, 2026, a flaw in verification code let an attacker mint roughly 4,000 fake bitcoin tokens.
03
The attacker cashed out through a normal peg-out process, draining the networks real bitcoin reserve.
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They left on-chain messages calling themselves whitehats and offered to return the funds.
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About 3,400 bitcoin came back after a patch, but roughly 600 bitcoin, worth about 47 million dollars, stayed gone.
06
Blockstream publicly refused to pay what it called a ransom for the rest.
07
On November 3, 2026, Liquid announced its reserves are fully restored after a series of deposits closed the gap.
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The episode is a reminder that sidechains add convenience but also add a different, more concentrated trust model than Bitcoin itself.