Hackers Drain $320 Million From Liquid Network In Massive Crypto Heist

MENLO PARK, Calif.--Hackers siphoned roughly $320 million from the Liquid Network blockchain in the latest major cryptocurrency theft, with the attackers claiming to be “white-hat hackers” who intend to return the funds once a security vulnerability is fixed, according to PYMNTS.

Liquid Network said that wallets would be affected and new transactions had been paused while federation members work to resolve the problem, PYMNTS reported. The hackers have been communicating with network maintainers through Bitcoin transactions, telling them to patch every node before the stolen funds are returned.

The incident follows several other major crypto security breaches, according to PYMNTS. A hacker stole $6 million from crypto lending platform Tectonic last week, while losses tied to an August attack exploiting older firmware used by Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallets have been estimated at between $115 million and $130 million.

The attacks come as financial institutions face growing concerns over crypto-related fraud. PYMNTS reported that a recent FinCEN analysis found banks may be positioned to spot investment scams before the final fraudulent payment occurs by identifying patterns such as retirement account liquidations, rapidly depleted savings, new home equity or personal loans and transfers to crypto exchanges or unfamiliar beneficiaries.