Boltz Bitcoin Bridge

2018-01-01

Concept for Boltz originated when co-founder Kilian Rausch identified a need for automated Lightning channel liquidity management while working on OpenDex.

2019-04-01

Boltz mainnet launched, facilitating atomic swaps between Bitcoin base chain and Lightning Network.

2023-05-01

Boltz formally incorporated as a company; Liquid Network swaps added to the platform; service expanded beyond a side project.

2026-05-31

Boltz published a PGP-signed warrant canary with a 60-day renewal commitment, setting a renewal deadline of July 30, 2026.

2026-07-30

Boltz's 60-day warrant canary renewal deadline passed without renewal, triggering later community concern.

2026-08-03

Boltz suspended all swap operations indefinitely, citing sustained AI-assisted exploitation by multiple groups outpacing the team's patching capacity. ~$262,000 TVL was in the protocol at the time of suspension.

2026-08-05

Boltz renewed its warrant canary, stating zero requests for information from any government agency had been received.

2026-08-13

Boltz announced all three founders — Kilian Rausch, Michael, and Karl — had stepped down effective immediately. An unnamed group of 'veteran Bitcoiners' agreed to take over the project, providing capital and engineering resources.

2026-08-21

Swap services remained offline with no announced relaunch date; new operators had not publicly identified themselves.