85% of Stolen Bitcoins Returned: Blockstream Will Not Pay Ransom

While approximately 85% of the Bitcoins stolen from Liquid Network have been returned, Blockstream announced that it will not pay a ransom for the remaining amount.

According to information shared by Wu Blockchain, the attacker returned approximately 3,400 Bitcoins (BTC) stolen from Liquid Network. This amount corresponds to roughly 85% of the stolen funds. However, approximately 598.5 BTC has still not been returned.

Blockstream refused to pay a ransom to recover the remaining Bitcoins. The company characterized the unauthorized taking and non-return of assets not as ethical security research, but as outright theft.

Blockstream chooses the legal recovery path

Blockstream stated that if the remaining funds are not returned, it will conduct legal recovery efforts in conjunction with law enforcement, crypto exchanges, and forensic experts.

SlowMist founder Cos, on the other hand, found Blockstream’s firm stance “surprising.” Cos also mentioned that there might have been non-public negotiations between the two parties.