Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Bitcoin sidechain Liquid paused operations after actors claiming to be white-hat hackers withdrew about 4,000 Bitcoin, worth $320 million, from its federation wallet. Tether-backed Chilean exchange Orionx began shutting down after an audit uncovered a more than $7 million custody shortfall, while Polish lawmakers failed to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of crypto legislation as the Zondacrypto investigation widens.

Bitcoin sidechain Liquid pauses after purported ‘white hats’ withdraw $320M in BTC

On Sunday, Liquid said that bridge nodes were disabled, preventing new transactions, while exchanges had halted or were preparing to halt L-BTC deposits and withdrawals.

Blockstream, Liquid’s technology provider, started contacting the actors through signed onchain messages. Subsequent messages show the actors told Blockstream to patch the vulnerability and ensure every node was updated before they would return most of the Bitcoin. 

They also sent encrypted technical details to Blockstream, according to Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn. At the time of writing, the funds had not been returned. 

SideSwap said the withdrawal passed through its peg-out service as a customer order using its Peg-out Authorization Key (PAK), but that the key was not compromised. It said the L-BTC used in the transaction originated from a bug in Elements, the open-source software underpinning Liquid, rather than SideSwap’s systems. 

Cointelegraph reached out to Liquid Network and Blockstream for comment.

The withdrawn Bitcoin represented roughly 95% of the wallet’s approximately 4,200 BTC balance before the incident. Liquid said other assets issued on the network, including USDT, DePix and real-world assets, were unaffected. The sidechain remained paused while federation members worked to fix the vulnerability. 

Tether-backed Orionx to shut down after audit flags $7M custody gap

Tether-backed Chilean crypto exchange Orionx is permanently shutting down after a forensic audit found more than $7 million in customer assets had moved to wallets outside its custody.

Orionx said withdrawals are temporarily suspended as it works to return as much of clients’ assets as possible. The exchange has filed a criminal complaint against former executives and co-founders Roberto Zibert and Joaquín Díaz, who have denied wrongdoing.

The alleged transfers occurred between 2018 and 2021, according to local reports. Tether led Orionx’s Series A funding round in June 2025 as part of its expansion into Latin America.

Poland upholds crypto bill veto as Zondacrypto scandal widens

Polish lawmakers failed to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of crypto legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of the country’s digital asset market.

The Sejm voted 241-198 to override the veto, with three abstentions, falling 25 votes short of the required three-fifths majority.

The vote comes as an investigation into collapsed crypto exchange Zondacrypto expands. Prime Minister Donald Tusk cited witness testimony alleging payments and attempts to influence politicians linked to Poland’s previous government.

Zondacrypto’s Estonian operator, BB Trade Estonia, was declared bankrupt in August, while Polish prosecutors are investigating suspected fraud and money laundering connected to the exchange.