Liquidate: ‘All Your Bitcoin Belongs to Us’
A shade under 4000 bitcoins worth $319 million were taken from the Liquid network — alleged “white hat” hackers claimed responsibility. An unverified OP_RETURN message reads: “We are Whitehat. Contact us on the chain.”
The Blockstream-powered Bitcoin sidechain has paused bridge nodes and asked exchanges to halt LBTC deposits and withdrawals as the team tries to contact the attackers and identify security holes. Liquid Explorer shows that his Federation wallet balance has dropped from 4,200 BTC to just 207.275 BTC.
Under normal liquid mechanics, LBTC is burned on the sidechain before Bitcoin is withdrawn. In simple terms, the transaction needs to be approved by 11 out of 15 multisigs with funds sent to the approved whitelist.
Liquid Network posted earlier today that: “The funds were withdrawn via the SideSwap PAK (Peg-Out Authorization Key), but that key was not compromised, nor was any other.”
“Bridge nodes have been temporarily disabled, so no new transactions can be submitted to the network. Effectively, Liquid Sidechain has been paused until this issue is resolved.”
Crypto analyst DBCrypto noted that: “The coins aren’t moving and they’re just sitting in Bitcoin and haven’t been mixed. This is more consistent with a whitehat extraction than a theft.” However, he said, this incident raises some big questions about the security of sidechains. “Either 11 out of 15 officials signed it, or the whitelist designed to prevent it just wasn’t put in place. Neither answer makes Liquid look good.”
Funds were sent via Sideswap. It is later has been posted That its key was not compromised and that: “Blockstream has since established that L-BTC was created with a bug in the Elements software.”
At the time of writing Blockstream and Adam Back did not post the incident on X but CEO of Jan3 Samson md Said: “Everyone is actively working to resolve this…it’s a difficult time but we will get through.”
Bitcoin ETF Flows Hit $3.8B in Strongest Three-Week Flow of 2026
While Bitcoin has yet to hold above the 50-week moving average that would confirm a bull market, there are other signs that bull market conditions are returning. US spot bitcoin ETFs just recorded their strongest three-week inflow stretch since 2026 as bitcoin trades above $80,000.
The funds attracted $986.9 million in the week ended Friday, bringing net inflows over the past three weeks to $3.8 billion. According to In SoSoValue data.
Total net assets across funds stood at $101.3 billion on Friday, while cumulative net inflows reached $55.6 billion. Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday recorded net inflows of $730.9 million for a strong showing since January 14.
AMC boss cracks it on Robinhood’s tokenized stocks
Robinhood has been a resounding success so far, leading the chain to flip daily fees and Solana’s 24-hour DEX volume. Its token Launchpad PONS even broke into the top 100 coins this week with a stunning 140% gain. One area of interest is the pairing of tokenized stocks like AMC with Ethereum L2’s memecoin.
But while crypto dignitaries love it, AMC CEO Adam Aaron is less than impressed and has threatened to send lawyers over the chain’s “outrageous” decision to tokenize AMC stock without his express permission. He wrote in X:
“I find this practice offensive, indecent, despicable, disgusting, inexcusable, disgusting. How can it be legal? We have nothing to do with it, and do not condone it in any way.”
Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev trolled him by bluntly asking: “What’s the concern?” Which sent Aaron off for another quip about Robinhood’s “amazing and shameful” behavior. He urged them, “Stop and decide (sic)” and said the SEC likely could not support Robinhood’s “trickery of ignoring US securities laws. You can be sure we’ll ask them.”
Robinhood’s chief legal officer is Dan Gallagher — a former SEC commissioner — wrote Back to:
“We know little about US securities law and will not “DECIST”. Send your lawyers, we’ll educate them.”
how rude
Source: Dan Gallagher
BofA, Citi, Goldman Sachs are among 21 institutions planning to launch stablecoins
A group of 21 major financial institutions plans to establish a new company to develop and issue stablecoins.
The consortium announced Tuesday includes Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, MUFG and Fidelity Investments. It plans to launch a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027, subject to company formation and other conditions.
According to the announcement, the group plans to eventually expand to stablecoins in other G7 currencies, with the euro offering identified as the next priority.
In other news that crypto is now playing with the big boys, G20 member countries issued a joint statement endorsing crypto as a transformative way to bring about “broad-based economic growth.” It commits member countries to “advancing responsible and effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks that protect financial stability, support economic growth and establish clear pathways for sound digital finance and digital asset innovation.”
Kalshi bans Santos for life as states try to ban Kalshi for life
Prediction market platform Kalshi has banned ousted Republican lawmaker Jorge Santos for life for allegedly using insider information to trade in event deals. This is one of the first lifetime bans the company has imposed since its launch in 2021. Kalshi said Santos was betting on the markets involved in his own activities, and said he “engaged in trading activities in some markets related to his presence at the State of the Union Address” in February 2026.
Santos responded to the ban to call Kalshi is an “insignificant company.”
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s attorney general has formally petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear a case aimed at resolving whether state authorities or federal agencies have jurisdiction over prediction market companies. Officials cited civil cases brought by gaming authorities in “at least 20 states” that require courts to decide whether state law or Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules prevail.
“These companies have no right to offer sports betting without following state law, which is why dozens of states across the ideological spectrum have opposed them (…) We call on the Supreme Court to address this issue and recognize that Congress has not quietly exempted the sports-betting industry from state law.”
winners and losers
By week’s end, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading up 2.6% at $80,234, Ethereum (ETH) was up 2.3% at $2,513, and XRP (XRP) was up 3% at $1.42. According to CoinMarketCap the total market cap is $2.72 trillion.
Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week were Pons (PONS) with gains of 140%, Arbitrum (ARB) with 116% and Dash (DASH) with 66%.
The top three altcoin losers for the week were Pump.fun (PUMP) down 13.2%, Canton (CC) down 6.9% and Official Trump (TRUMP) down 4.1%.
Top forecast of the week
BTC will hit $1M by 2030… but Arthur Hayes is buying ETH instead
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes told Cointelegraph the collapse of the AI bubble, “massive” money printing, and possible US yield curve manipulation are some of the reasons bitcoin could go to $1 million by 2030. “We have the material. The time is now. So I think $58,000 is probably the bottom of it in Bco. Hate the fuck rally,” the 41-year-old billionaire said.
But he adds that the best risk reward adjusted bet in crypto right now is not HyperLiquid, but ETH, and he’s gaining a significant foothold. “That doesn’t mean HyperLiquid won’t go up in price. I don’t think it’s ready for a 5x, and where I think Ethereum can do, you know, 3x to 5x very quickly,” he said.
Best FUD of the week
No Public Funds Used in El Salvador’s Post-Review Bitcoin Collection: IMF
According to a report this week, El Salvador has not used any public resources to deposit bitcoins after the first review of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing program in June 2025.
The IMF said said Documents provided by Salvadoran authorities verified that the deposit came from private donations. This means that the increase in El Salvador’s holdings does not reflect additional bitcoin purchases financed with government resources.
The IMF also said that majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo wallet has been transferred to a private operator, while the government retains a minority stake and custodial responsibility.
But President Nayeb Bukel called the story “fake news” and said the claim that El Salvador had transferred bitcoin returns to a private party was “absolutely false.” He pointed This is the IMF link As proof:
“Read it. It clearly says the opposite: the only thing that was transferred was the Chivo shares, which were given a year and a half ago, and not the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.”
Fake cloud desktop app spreads crypto-stealing malware
A fake cloud desktop application is reportedly being used to distribute RevStealer, a Windows malware strain designed to steal crypto, passwords and browser data.
According to a Monday Report By cybersecurity company Morphisec, RevStealer was previously distributed via GitHub repositories and game-cheat-themed sites but most notably a fake “Claude Opus 5 Free Desktop” project impersonating AI developer Anthropic and promising free access to Claude.
The researchers noted that the malware is designed to trace and search browser databases, cookies, password-manager records, VPN and remote-access settings, messaging data, screenshots, and selected documents. RevStealer targets more than 50 cryptocurrency wallets.
Hyperscale Data Michigan Ends BTC Mining As Holdings Drop 79%
Hyperscale Data has ended all bitcoin mining operations at its Michigan facility as it prepares the site for an artificial intelligence data center customer.
On Wednesday, the company said said The facility has all Bitcoin miners switched off and it wants to sell the associated mining equipment
Hyperscale said the AI customer contracted for 20 megawatts (MW) of computing capacity under a 10-year master service agreement with two optional five-year extensions. The deal could generate more than $1.2 billion over a maximum 20-year term. An additional 32 MW option could raise potential revenue to over $3 billion, while the site is expected to support 340 MW.
Hyperscale has sharply reduced its bitcoin holdings while funding the AI buildout. Its holdings have fallen from 1006 bitcoins at the end of July to around 215 BTC today.
Top magazine stories of the week
The million dollar question is what prompted a Bitcoin OG to send 20 BTC to a custodian, retrieve it, and then intentionally burn it?
Crypto is showing signs of life again, but its biggest wins look different from what early believers imagined. After a decade of construction, has it been worth it?
Crypto projects are spending millions to buy their own tokens. But are buybacks creating lasting value — or making tokens look more valuable than they really are?
Crypto recovery experts reveal how lost wallets, passwords and seed phrases can sometimes be recovered — but it won’t help if the money wasn’t there in the first place.
Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reports with subject-matter expertise developed by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors according to our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn commissions. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial decisions The content published here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with appropriate professionals. Cointelegraph maintains complete editorial independence.
