Bridge Over Troubled Patches: Boltz Halts Bitcoin Swaps, Cites AI Bugs Outpacing Humans 🤖

Boltz, a non-custodial Bitcoin swap service that lets users move $BTC between the Lightning Network and the blockchain's base layer, has suspended its swap service indefinitely after determining it could no longer operate safely amid a surge in AI-assisted attacks. In a series of posts on X on Monday, the company said swaps are disabled "until further notice" and that it cannot provide an estimate for when service will return. "We can't give an ETA as of this time, but will provide an update once we know more," Boltz wrote.

The company said the decision was not tied to a single incident but to a months-long escalation in automated probing. "Over the past months we have seen a steady rise in automated, AI-assisted probing of our infrastructure, and we have dealt with several exploits," Boltz wrote. "Each was contained, but the pattern is clear: attackers now iterate faster than a team our size can find and patch." The company added that the pace of attacks accelerated in recent days, and that recent internal security scans led it to conclude it could not responsibly re-enable swaps while "being actively targeted by what appear to be multiple resourceful groups while we race to deploy fixes."

Boltz has not published transaction volume figures. DeFiLlama data cited in reporting shows Boltz holds roughly $262,000 in total value locked. Because the service is non-custodial, the company stated "no user funds were ever at risk." Boltz said its API remains available to process cooperative refunds, that unilateral refunds continue to function because they do not depend on Boltz's infrastructure, and that customer support remains available. The company framed the episode as part of a wider shift affecting Bitcoin infrastructure operators, writing, "What we are seeing is a major paradigm shift for Bitcoin services operating on an open source stack, and it needs careful analysis," and warning, "Do not expect swap services to resume shortly."

The announcement came as the cryptocurrency industry grappled with the impact of AI on cyberattacks. On Tuesday, Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet warned that AI allows attackers to scan code and uncover vulnerabilities "at machine speed," while defenders are increasingly racing to identify the same flaws first. His comments came amid continuing fallout from the Coldcard exploit, with losses nearing $130 million. Boltz has not indicated a timeline for restoring swaps and said it will issue an update once its remediation work progresses.