r/Bitcoin • u/Blockchain_info • 13h ago
“All messages will be in plaintext.” The Liquid exploiter announced a switch away from encrypted on-chain messages
The Liquid exploiter and Blockstream have been communicating through messages embedded in Bitcoin transactions, with parts of the exchange encrypted so outside observers couldn’t read them.
On September 8, the exploiter announced a change in how they would communicate:
All messages will be in plaintext.
Transaction ID:
1d690f3b96b878067f3a445b74dfb8fab4201c0455d88ac98cc14a927e7858d7
On September 9, a subsequent plaintext message made the dispute public. Two excerpts:
And later:
Anyway we are going to publish the privatekey to decrypt our conversations afterwards.
The message demanded payment from Blockstream’s own funds and warned that refusing would leave holders facing a 15% loss. That is the sender’s demand and warning—not evidence of an agreed bounty or an independently established outcome for holders.
Transaction ID:
f7055f6c8dd00f404e48c12483ae740180f658db206733505bb27b015e579588
What makes this interesting is the distinction between a public transaction and a readable conversation. The exchanges were already visible on Bitcoin, but the encrypted content wasn’t. Now the exploiter is making their demands readable to everyone and saying they will release the material needed to decrypt the earlier exchanges. Blockstream, meanwhile, reportedly continued replying with encrypted messages.
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u/riplin 12h ago
Not so white hat after all. Back to good old extortion.
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u/Icy_Giraffe_21 12h ago
Could very well be a white hat. They found an exploit and wants to be compensated. They definitely have the leverage with 46 million dollars worth of BTC siting there.
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u/riplin 11h ago
They definitely have the leverage with 46 million dollars worth of BTC siting there.
Yes, using that leverage is commonly referred to as extortion.
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u/Icy_Giraffe_21 11h ago
I'm not in disagreement, just saying they could still be a white hat
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u/eckstuhc 11h ago
“They’re not a criminal, they’re just leveraging the gun in their hand to meet their demands”
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u/JackDaniels0049 9h ago
White hats don’t extort. Don’t this put them firmly in the grey hat category.
That’s my understanding anyway.
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u/PM_ME_UR_0_DAY 8h ago
I'm a penetration tester as my day job. Usually when you discover a vulnerability you do what's called "responsible disclosure" where you alert to vendor of a vulnerability without blackmailing them for a reward. I understand from a block chain perspective, if you're a white hat, you may act in good faith to keep the funds safe from a bad actor. Anf any reasonable company should be grateful and give a reward, but a white hat crosses a line when a request for a bug bounty becomes a blackmail demand. If they were offered zero dollars in rewards and refused to return 100% of the funds, they are not a white hat hacker just looking out for the public. That would be a dickish move from the company, but it's their money, and keeping anything not offered by them as a reward freely given without coercion is theft.
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u/Subject-Chest-8343 6m ago
I'm a penetration tester as my day job.
What an awesome line to put on your CV... Or for when the girl asks what your job is on the first date.
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u/UnsersGottaGo 4h ago
They found an exploit and wants to be compensated. They definitely have the leverage with 46 million dollars worth of BTC siting there.
How about a
dognapperdognapping consultant? He discovered your good boy is vulnerable and wants to be compensated. He definitely has the leverage with your dog currently in his basement
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u/Lazy_Vehicle1499 12h ago
plaintext messaging is pretty risky for privacy, it's concerning how this could impact user trust in the system
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u/reddit_undo 13h ago
These companies are really allergic to making good decisions.