Liquid Network Halt, CLARITY Act Vote, and Bitcoin ETF Outflows Shape Weekly Crypto Landscape

A withdrawal of nearly 4,000 BTC, valued at roughly $320 million, forced the Liquid Network to suspend transactions before a limited restart. At the same time, the U.S. Senate prepares for a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act, and spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded funds (ETFs) saw net outflows of $462.7 million over four trading sessions.

Liquid Network disruption and partial recovery

An actor used an authorized peg‑out service to withdraw about 3,996 BTC from the Liquid sidechain, removing around 95 % of the Bitcoin held in the federation wallet. The network halted all peg operations and block production while developers fixed a proof‑verification flaw in the Elements software. By September 10, nodes resumed block production, but peg‑in and peg‑out functions remained disabled. The actor returned 3,400 BTC, leaving roughly 598 BTC still outside the federation wallet. Liquid described the participants as “purported white‑hat hackers,” reflecting the claim without confirming authorization.

U.S. CLARITY Act faces a 60‑vote Senate hurdle

The CLARITY Act, which would address stablecoin rewards and protections for decentralized‑finance developers, requires a procedural vote of at least 60 senators on September 15 to open debate. With Republicans holding 53 seats, the measure needs support from at least seven Democrats or independents if all Republicans back it. Lawmakers cited unresolved ethics provisions and disagreements over stablecoin policy as obstacles. A successful procedural vote would allow debate but would not guarantee passage.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs experience significant outflows

Data from Farside Investors show that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $462.7 million from September 8 to September 11, covering four trading days including the Labor Day holiday. The largest single‑day outflow was $282.7 million on Thursday. In contrast, Ethereum‑focused ETFs attracted $196.9 million of net inflows, with a $216.4 million inflow on Friday. Solana‑related funds added $9.7 million.

Other notable developments

• The DOJ restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency linked to the Xinbi Guarantee network, seizing two wallets that received about $12 million.
• The Ethereum Foundation evaluated 62 proposals for its upcoming Hegotá upgrade, ranking transaction inclusion lists and Frame Transactions as highest priority.
• Brazilian banks expanded customer access to crypto assets, with Itaú offering 15 assets and Nubank listing 28.
• Flare’s network upgrade increased staked FLR to 21.5 billion tokens.