A hacker drained $320 million in Bitcoin from Blockstream's Liquid sidechain, bad news for Liquid users but a story that may end with most of the money returned.

• Most of the Bitcoin held on Liquid is now gone — about 85% of it.
• The thief left a message telling Blockstream to fix the bug and patch every node first.
• Blockstream says the hole is patched and has publicly asked for the coins back.
• None of the stolen Bitcoin has moved yet, which points to a negotiation rather than a cash-out.
• The likely endgame is a bounty deal: the hacker keeps a slice, signs a no-sue contract, and returns the rest.

Outlook: Expect a negotiated settlement in which most of the money comes back and the hacker walks away with a legal payout.