Bitcoin's Liquid Network reports a $320 million hack as a Tether-backed exchange folds
A sidechain of the Bitcoin network says $320 million was withdrawn in a hack, days after a Tether-backed Chilean exchange shut down over a custody shortfall.
Assembled by Claude from 10 sources at 10 outlets · Monday, September 7, 2026, Morning edition, 10:27 AM EDT · no human byline
What happened
The Bitcoin-based Liquid Network says $320 million was withdrawn in a hack reuters.com. The figure was reported consistently across outlets, as US$320mil stolen in the latest crypto hack thestar.com.my, as $320 million withdrawn caliber.az, and as a $320 million hack against the network newfortunetimes.com. Italian coverage framed the same amount as stolen from the Liquid Network and asked what the implications are for investors en.ilsole24ore.com.
Users of the network included Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, and BitMEX, which has announced it is shutting down this month thestar.com.my. Reporting on the incident ran alongside unrelated items in the same news cycle, including preparations for mid-September AI safety talks between the US and China reuters.com.
The second failure
Orionx, a Santiago-based crypto trading exchange backed by Tether, announced on September 3 that it is shutting down after an audit discovered a shortfall thestreet.com. The exchange halted withdrawals and closed following a $7 million custody shortfall, having taken backing from Tether about 15 months earlier finance.biggo.com. Tether had framed the original investment as part of a push to expand stablecoin access across Latin America startupfortune.com.
One newsletter assessment put the failure in proportion while drawing a conclusion from it: the $7 million custody gap, though small relative to Tether's reserves, underscores the operational risk embedded in equity stakes that do not come with control buttondown.com.
Why it matters to investors
Both events are infrastructure failures rather than price events. One is a sidechain of the largest crypto network reporting a nine-figure unauthorised withdrawal reuters.comcaliber.az; the other is an exchange closing after an audit found money missing thestreet.comfinance.biggo.com. Neither turned on the direction of any token.
The sequence is also close together. The exchange announced its closure on September 3 after an audit found the gap thestreet.com, and the network hack was reported in the days that followed reuters.com. In both cases the loss surfaced through a review or a withdrawal record rather than through a market move finance.biggo.comcaliber.az.
The context is a stablecoin sector that has grown quickly. Total stablecoin market capitalisation has grown by 154.8% in five years, with Ethereum hosting $163.5B of a rebounding $300B market, and regulatory scrutiny of Tether is increasing coinfomania.com. That is the same issuer named as a Liquid Network user thestar.com.my and as the backer of the exchange that has now closed startupfortune.comfinance.biggo.com. Custody arrangements, rather than headline market size, are where these losses appeared buttondown.com.
Sources
- reuters.com: Bitcoin -based Liquid Network says $320 million withdrawn in hack | Reuters (2026-09-07)
- thestar.com.my: Bitcoin network says US$320mil stolen in latest crypto hack | The Star (2026-09-07)
- en.ilsole24ore.com: 320 million Bitcoin have been stolen from the Liquid Network. What are the implications for investors? (2026-09-07)
- caliber.az: Bitcoin Liquid Network says $320 million withdrawn in hack - Caliber.Az (2026-09-07)
- newfortunetimes.com: Bitcoin Network Hit by $320 Million Hack as Crypto Security Concerns Grow (2026-09-07)
- buttondown.com: Hyperliquid ETFs Draw $75M From Wall Street; Robinhood L2 Takes Shape | ethereum.miami (2026-09-07)
- finance.biggo.com: Tether -Backed Orionx Halts Withdrawals and Shuts Down After $7 Million Custody Shortfall (2026-09-06)
- thestreet.com: Tether -backed exchange suddenly halts withdrawals ahead of shutdown - TheStreet Crypto (2026-09-06)
- startupfortune.com: Tether -Backed Orionx Shuts Down After a $7 Million Crypto Gap Surfaces - Startup Fortune (2026-09-06)
- coinfomania.com: Ethereum Hosts $163.5B of Rebounding $300B Stablecoin - Coinfomania (2026-09-06)