Bitcoin Suisse to Move Jobs Abroad; Blockstream Refuses Liquid Hacker Ransom

Bitcoin Suisse, the Zug-based crypto financial services firm founded in 2013, is preparing to relocate up to half of its Swiss workforce to lower-cost hubs in Bratislava and Vietnam. According to a Friday report from Swiss publication Finews, the restructuring could affect roughly 60 of the company's 120 Swiss positions, primarily in back-office and administrative roles. CEO Andrej Majcen told Finews that operating these functions in the two countries would be significantly less expensive, emphasizing that the move is part of an international expansion strategy rather than a response to weakness in the crypto market. Bitcoin Suisse provides crypto trading, custody, staking, and lending services to institutional clients.

In a separate development, Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream confirmed it will not pay a ransom to recover funds still held by the Liquid Network hackers. The company stated on Friday that "taking assets without authorization and withholding their return is a crime, not responsible disclosure," rejecting claims that the exploit constituted white-hat activity. The hackers had demanded a 10% bounty from Blockstream's own funds in an onchain message shared by Jan3 CEO Samson Mow on Wednesday, warning that Liquid holders would otherwise face a 15% loss. Blockstream said it engaged with the hackers in good faith but will now coordinate with law enforcement, exchanges, service providers, and forensic specialists to trace the assets and pursue those responsible.

The Liquid incident stems from a Sept. 6 event in which self-described white-hat hackers withdrew approximately 4,000 Bitcoin from the Bitcoin sidechain, prompting Liquid to pause operations. Blockstream urged the hackers to voluntarily return the remaining funds—reportedly close to 600 BTC—before further action is taken. Meanwhile, US lawmakers advanced a revised CLARITY Act that would direct regulators to determine the compliance obligations of individuals controlling "non-decentralized" DeFi protocols. The proposal marks a continued effort by Congress to clarify jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC over digital asset oversight, potentially reshaping how DeFi platforms are regulated in the United States.