Ethical Hackers Extract 4000 BTC from Liquid Network, Bitcoin ETFs Record 2026's Strongest Performance: Hodler's Digest
Self-proclaimed ethical hackers have extracted 4000 Bitcoin from the Liquid sidechain following a significant security incident. Bitcoin ETFs register their strongest three-week period of capital inflows for 2026.
Liquid Network Drained: 'All your Bitcoin are belong to us'
Nearly 4000 Bitcoin valued at approximately $319 million has been withdrawn from the Liquid Network — with self-described "white hat" hackers taking credit for the operation. An unconfirmed OP_RETURN message stated: "we are whitehats. contact us on chain."
The Bitcoin sidechain operated by Blockstream has been temporarily halted while the development team works to pinpoint the vulnerability and engage in negotiations for the recovery of assets. Data from the Liquid explorer reveals the federation wallet's balance plummeted from 4,200 BTC to a mere 207.275 BTC, representing a withdrawal of 3,998.5 Bitcoin.
According to standard Liquid protocol procedures, LBTC must be destroyed on the sidechain prior to Bitcoin withdrawal. Such transactions require authorization through an 11 of 15 multisignature mechanism, with assets transferred to pre-approved whitelist addresses.
Earlier today, Liquid Network announced that: "the funds were withdrawn via the SideSwap PAK (Peg-out Authorization Key), but that key was not compromised, nor were any others."
"Bridge nodes have been temporarily disabled, so no new transactions can be submitted to the network. Effectively, the Liquid sidechain is paused until this issue is resolved."
Cryptocurrency analyst DBCrypto observed that: "the coins aren't running and they're just sitting on Bitcoin and haven't been mixed. That's more consistent with a whitehat extraction than a theft." However, he emphasized the incident highlighted significant security concerns regarding the sidechain. "Either 11 of 15 functionaries signed this off, or the whitelist built to prevent exactly this didn't hold. Neither answer makes Liquid look good."
To date, neither Blockstream nor Adam Back have issued statements regarding the incident on X. This remains an evolving situation.
Bitcoin ETF capital inflows reach $3.8B during 2026's most robust three-week period
Despite Bitcoin's inability to maintain a position above the 50-week moving average that would signal bull market confirmation, additional indicators suggest bullish market dynamics are emerging. US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have just completed their most impressive three-week inflow period of 2026 while Bitcoin trades marginally above the $80,000 threshold.
These investment vehicles captured $986.9 million during the week concluding Friday, pushing total net inflows across the preceding three weeks to $3.8 billion, based on data from SoSoValue.
Combined net assets throughout the funds reached $101.3 billion as of Friday, with aggregate net inflows totaling $55.6 billion. Thursday witnessed the Bitcoin ETFs recording $730.9 million in net inflows, representing the most substantial single-day performance since Jan. 14.
AMC chief executive expresses outrage regarding Robinhood's tokenized equity offerings
Robinhood has demonstrated remarkable success to this point, dominating blockchain networks for daily transaction fees and surpassing Solana's 24-hour decentralized exchange volume. Its token launchpad PONS even secured a position within the Top 100 coins this week following an impressive 140% surge. A portion of the enthusiasm has centered on the Ethereum Layer 2's combination of memecoins alongside tokenized equities such as AMC.
However, while cryptocurrency enthusiasts embrace it, AMC's Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron harbors strong disapproval and has issued threats of legal action regarding the chain's "outrageous" determination to tokenize AMC stock without obtaining his explicit authorization. He expressed on X:
"I find this practice to be contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile. How can it possibly be legal? We have no connection to this at all, and do not condone it in any way."
Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev responded mockingly by inquiring casually: "What's the concern?" which triggered Aron into another tirade concerning Robinhood's "shocking and shameful" behavior. He demanded they "CEASE AND DECIST (sic)" and declared the SEC could not conceivably endorse Robinhood's "sham ignoring of US securities laws. You can be sure we will be asking them."
Robinhood's chief legal officer Dan Gallagher — formerly an SEC commissioner — responded:
"We know a little something about the U.S. securities laws and will not 'DECIST.' Send your lawyers and we'll educate them."
What a savage.
Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs among 21 financial institutions planning stablecoin introduction
An alliance of 21 prominent financial institutions has announced plans to establish a new corporate entity dedicated to developing and issuing stablecoin products.
The consortium, revealed Tuesday, encompasses Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, MUFG and Fidelity Investments. The group aims to introduce a US dollar-pegged stablecoin during the first half of 2027, contingent upon the company's establishment and additional requirements.
According to the official announcement, the consortium ultimately intends to broaden its offerings into stablecoins denominated in additional G7 currencies, identifying a euro-denominated product as the subsequent priority.
In additional developments demonstrating cryptocurrency's integration with traditional finance, G20 member nations released a collective statement endorsing crypto as a transformative mechanism to facilitate "broad-based economic growth." The statement committed participating nations to "advancing responsible and effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks that preserve financial stability, support economic growth, and establish clear pathways for sound digital financial and digital assets innovation."
Kalshi implements lifetime prohibition on Santos while New Jersey seeks to ban Kalshi permanently
Prediction market platform Kalshi has implemented a permanent ban on former Republican congressman George Santos for purportedly utilizing insider knowledge for trading on event-based contracts. This represents one of the initial lifetime prohibitions the platform has enforced since commencing operations in 2021. Kalshi disclosed that Santos had engaged in wagering on markets concerning his personal activities, and revealed he had "engaged in trading activity in certain markets related to his attendance at the State of the Union address" during February 2026.
Responding to the prohibition, Santos characterized Kalshi as an "unserious company."
Concurrently, New Jersey's Attorney General formally petitioned the United States Supreme Court to consider a case designed to determine whether state regulatory authorities or federal agencies possess jurisdiction over prediction market enterprises. Officials referenced civil proceedings initiated by gaming regulators in "at least 20 states" that necessitated the court to establish if state legislation or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's regulations held precedence.
"These companies have no right to offer their sports bets without following state law, which is why dozens of States across the ideological spectrum have opposed them [...] We're calling on the Supreme Court to resolve this issue and recognize that Congress did not silently make the sports-betting industry immune from state law."
Winners and Losers
As the week concludes, Bitcoin (BTC) has increased 2.6% to reach $80,234, Ethereum (ETH) has risen 2.3% to reach $2,513 and XRP (XRP) has climbed 3% to $1.42. The aggregate market capitalization stands at $2.72 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Pons (PONS) with a 140% gain, Arbitrum (ARB) on 116%, and Dash (DASH) on 66%.
The top three altcoin decliners of the week are Pump.fun (PUMP) which was down 13.2%, Canton (CC) down 6.9% and Official Trump (TRUMP) down 4.1%.
Top Prediction of the Week
BTC will reach $1M by 2030... however Arthur Hayes is purchasing ETH alternatively
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes informed Cointelegraph the implosion of the artificial intelligence bubble, "massive" monetary expansion, and prospective US yield curve control represent some of the factors why Bitcoin could achieve $1 million by 2030. "We have the ingredients. The time is now. So I think the $58,000 was probably the bottom in Bitcoin, and now it's going to grind higher in this hate fuck rally," the 41-year-old billionaire stated.
However, he noted the optimal risk-reward adjusted investment in crypto presently wasn't Hyperliquid, but ETH and he's been accumulating a substantial position. "That doesn't necessarily mean that Hyperliquid won't rise in price. I just don't think it's poised for a 5x, and like where I think Ethereum could do, you know, 3x to 5x pretty quickly," he explained.
Top FUD of the Week
El Salvador's post-review Bitcoin accumulation utilized no government funds: IMF
El Salvador deployed no public resources to acquire Bitcoin following the initial review of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing arrangement in June 2025, based on reports released this week.
The IMF allegedly confirmed documents provided by Salvadoran government officials verified that the accumulation originated from private charitable contributions. This would indicate the increase in El Salvador's cryptocurrency holdings did not represent additional Bitcoin acquisitions financed with governmental resources.
The IMF additionally stated majority ownership and operational authority of the Chivo wallet had been transferred to a private entity, while the government maintained a minority ownership stake and custodial obligations.
However, President Nayib Bukele dismissed the story as "fake news" and stated the assertion that El Salvador had transferred its Bitcoin proceeds to a private entity was "TOTALLY FALSE." He referenced this IMF link as proof:
"Read it. It clearly says the opposite: that the only thing that was transferred were Chivo shares, something that was offered a year and a half ago, and NOT the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve."
Fraudulent Claude desktop application distributes cryptocurrency-stealing malware
A counterfeit Claude desktop application is allegedly being utilized to disseminate RevStealer, a Windows malware variant engineered to extract crypto, password and browser information.
According to a Monday analysis by cybersecurity firm Morphisec, RevStealer was previously propagated through GitHub repositories and gaming-cheat-themed websites but the most significant is a fraudulent "Claude Opus 5 Free Desktop" project that impersonates AI developer Anthropic and promises complimentary access to Claude.
The security researchers highlighted that the malware is engineered to minimize traces and examines browser databases, cookies, password-manager records, VPN and remote-access configurations, messaging information, screenshots and designated documents. RevStealer additionally targets more than 50 cryptocurrency wallet applications.
Hyperscale Data terminates Michigan BTC mining as cryptocurrency holdings decline 79%
Hyperscale Data has terminated all Bitcoin mining activities at its Michigan installation as it reconfigures the location for an artificial intelligence data center client.
On Wednesday, the corporation announced that all Bitcoin mining equipment at the facility were deactivated and that it plans to liquidate the related mining hardware.
Hyperscale stated the AI client has contracted for 20 megawatts (MW) of computing capacity through a 10-year master services agreement with two optional five-year extensions. The contract may produce more than $1.2 billion throughout the maximum 20-year duration. An additional 32 MW option could elevate potential revenue above $3 billion, while the location is anticipated to accommodate 340 MW.
Hyperscale has also substantially reduced its Bitcoin reserves while financing the AI construction project. Its holdings have decreased from 1006 Bitcoin at the conclusion of July to approximately 215 BTC today.
Top Magazine Stories of the Week
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Token buybacks are booming. But are they good for crypto projects?
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Recovery specialists crack $1B crypto wallet... but find just $10
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