Boltz — a trustless atomic swap platform for Bitcoin and Bitcoin-based assets — announced a temporary pause in its operations after detecting a sharp spike in cyberattacks. The platform facilitates peer-to-peer swaps between the Bitcoin mainnet and secondary layers like Lightning Network and Liquid Network. It said it is dealing with a 'major paradigm shift' in how Bitcoin services must defend against threats. No user funds have been compromised, as Boltz uses non-custodial and cryptographically secure transactions.
A spokesperson for Boltz explained that in the past few days alone, the platform faced an unprecedented surge in attacks. 'We do not believe this asymmetry will reverse,' they said. While the API remains functional for refunds and support channels stay open, the company warned that swap services will not resume soon. The incident comes as PayPerQ — a pay-per-prompt AI service accepting Bitcoin and other cryptos — also reported frequent AI-powered exploits. They described the current climate as 'very dangerous.'
The broader crypto industry is paying closer attention to how AI is reshaping cyber threats. Solana Foundation’s new chief information security officer, Michael Coates, told Cointelegraph in July that human-based security measures are no longer viable at scale. 'We’re at a tipping point as an industry,' Coates said. 'The only path forward is to have autonomous defense that operates at the speed of machines.' This warning echoes Boltz’s current reality. Attackers exploit AI to automate and accelerate breaches.