Bad luck for a historic Bitcoin figure. Adam Back, inventor of Hashcash and co-founder of Blockstream, sees several projects he remains associated with simultaneously going through difficult times. Bloomberg lists the abandonment of the listing of BSTR Holdings, litigation targeting a mining activity separated from Blockstream and the hacking of Liquid Network.
These files, however, concern distinct structures and do not all directly involve the company headed by the British cryptographer.
Key Points
Liquid Network breach allowed around 4,000 BTC to be withdrawn, of which 3,400 were later returned
Around 598.5 BTC, valued at around $47 million, remains in the hands of the perpetrators
BSTR Holdings' proposed listing with Cantor Equity Partners I has been abandoned
Severance agreement provides $15 million to Cantor's SPAC
Several disputes concern a mining activity which no longer depends on Blockstream Corp.
Liquid Network returns 85% of withdrawn bitcoins
Adam Back holds a special place in Bitcoin history. Its Hashcash system, designed in 1997 to combat spam, inspired the proof-of-work mechanism used by the protocol. Satoshi Nakamoto cited this in the whitepaper published in 2008.
Back then co-founded Blockstream in 2014 and still runs the company. This is notably developing Liquid, a federated sidechain allowing bitcoins to be moved more quickly and with greater confidentiality. Blockstream reached a valuation of $3.2 billion after raising $210 million in 2021.
On September 6, 2026, unidentified actors exploited a vulnerability in Liquid's validation software. They created approximately 4,000 L-BTC without depositing the corresponding bitcoins, then converted them to real BTC through the sidechain exit mechanism.
The initial withdrawal was approximately $319 million. The authors, who presented themselves as ethical hackers without this quality being confirmed, returned some 3,400 BTC after the deployment of a patch. However, approximately 598.5 BTC, or nearly $47 million, remain in their possession.
Other difficulties affect Blockstream's former mining business. This was separated from the group and now operates around Exacore, with Adam Back retaining only a minority stake. Several proceedings relate to allegedly unpaid invoices, equipment and accommodation contracts.
River Financial is seeking approximately $6.7 million from Blockstream Services Canada. The target company is no longer controlled by Blockstream Corp., although it continues to use that name under license. These civil charges have not yet been resolved.
BSTR Holdings renounces its listing and must pay $15 million
The third setback concerns BSTR Holdings, a Bitcoin treasury company co-founded and led by Adam Back. It was to enter Nasdaq by merging with Cantor Equity Partners I, a SPAC backed by Cantor Fitzgerald.
The arrangement provided that the future listed company would have 30,021 BTC at closing. The founders had to contribute 25,000, while investors engaged in a private placement had to provide the remaining 5,021 BTC. Up to $1.5 billion in fiat currency financing was also considered.
These bitcoins therefore did not yet constitute the effective balance sheet of a listed company. Their contribution remained conditional on the finalization of the merger.
The two parties finally abandoned the operation on August 20, 2026 after trying to modify the conditions. The termination agreement provides for the payment of 15 million dollars to Cantor Equity Partners I, including 10 million in September and five million in December.
BSTR says it is continuing its cash management strategy outside of public markets. The abandonment of its listing comes as the reduction in stock market premiums on bitcoin reserves complicates the financing of companies specializing in this strategy.
