Blink Wallet Restores Services After Attacker Drains Custodial Accounts

Bitcoin payments app Blink Wallet restored services on September 19 after an attacker gained unauthorized access to a limited number of custodial accounts and withdrew funds, prompting the company to temporarily shut down its platform.

Blink initially paused services while investigating the incident, saying the large majority of funds remained secure. Its non-custodial wallets were unaffected.

The interruption came days after separate security warnings involving DCENT Wallet and Core Lightning, adding another wallet-related incident to a busy September for Bitcoin security teams.

Few Dozen Custodial Accounts Were Affected

Blink later narrowed the scope to a few dozen custodial accounts. Every affected account had been identified, and Blink said users would be made whole without needing to take any action.

The company has not disclosed how much Bitcoin or other assets were withdrawn. It has also not published the method used to gain access to the affected accounts.

Blink’s custodial service holds funds on behalf of users, while its non-custodial product gives customers control over their own keys. The company introduced non-custodial accounts in June using infrastructure designed to let users maintain direct control over their Bitcoin.

Blink’s security documentation says its custodial Lightning service keeps the majority of funds in multi-signature cold storage, with a smaller portion available in a hot wallet for payment processing. The company has not disclosed which part of its custodial infrastructure was involved in the September 19 incident.

Blink Deploys Patch and Restores Services

During the shutdown, Blink said it was deploying a patch while working to bring its services back online. The company subsequently restored access at about 4:19 p.m. ET, saying the incident had been verified and fixed.

Users whose accounts were not affected could resume using the service following the restoration. Blink said a full post-mortem would follow, which is expected to provide additional information about the attack path and remediation.

The company had already been shifting parts of its user base toward non-custodial accounts before the breach. Blink began winding down custodial services in some regions this summer because of regulatory changes, with affected customers given migration or withdrawal options.

The incident also follows the temporary shutdown of Swiss Bitcoin Pay on September 14 after suspected unauthorized access to its internal systems.

Blink has not yet disclosed the total amount withdrawn or published its technical post-mortem. Its latest incident update confirms services are back online and affected custodial users will be reimbursed.

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