White Hat Hacker Reaches Out, Paving Way for Bitcoin Recovery
New developments in the Liquid Network incident reveal a potential shift in the attacker's motives. According to Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy, the individual responsible for draining funds has initiated encrypted communication with Blockstream, the network's development team.
The Dialogue: Fix First, Repay Later
The exchange began after Blockstream reached out. The hacker's response was straightforward, first proposing: "Return most of the funds to a Blockstream address, okay?"
The message then laid out a clear precondition for any restitution: the underlying vulnerability must be patched first. Specific demands included:
- The development team must implement a fix for the exploit.
- All nodes on the Liquid Network must complete the patch upgrade.
- Only after confirmation of a successful fix would funds be safely returned.
Encrypted Technical Exchange
Beyond the on-chain messages, the attacker sent technically sensitive information via PGP-encrypted communication. This encrypted data, decryptable only by Blockstream's team, likely contains crucial details about the exploit's mechanics or system weaknesses, which are vital for a comprehensive resolution.
Ongoing dialogue between the two parties continues. This progression suggests the actor may be operating with "white hat" or ethical hacking intentions, aiming primarily to force the remediation of a critical security flaw rather than to permanently appropriate the assets.