Boltz, a non-custodial Bitcoin swap service, has suspended its Bitcoin swap product indefinitely, saying a recent rise in automated, AI-assisted attacks has made it unsafe to keep operating under current conditions.
In posts on X, the company said swaps are disabled until further notice and that it cannot offer a timetable for restoring the service. Boltz added that user funds were not at risk because the platform does not take custody of them.
Service paused without a return date
The shutdown applies to Boltz's Bitcoin swap service, which the company said is being taken offline as a precaution rather than after any loss of customer assets. The firm described the move as necessary because the pace of attacks has exceeded its ability to identify and patch weaknesses in time.
Boltz said there is no ETA for a relaunch. That leaves the suspension open-ended, with the company indicating only that the service will remain unavailable until it believes it can be operated safely again.
Company cites months of escalating pressure
According to Boltz, the latest decision follows a steady increase over recent months in automated probing and repeated exploits. The firm said attackers have been using AI-assisted methods to test systems and uncover flaws more quickly than its team can respond.
The company said that acceleration has become more severe recently. In its account, attackers are now able to iterate at a speed that makes the normal cycle of detection, patching, and redeployment increasingly difficult to sustain.
Refund paths remain available
Although swaps are paused, Boltz said some parts of its infrastructure remain online to help existing users recover funds tied to interrupted activity. The company's API is still available for cooperative refunds, it said.
Boltz also noted that unilateral refunds continue to function independently of Boltz infrastructure. That distinction is important to the company's broader message that its non-custodial design limits the risk of funds being trapped by the shutdown itself.
A broader AI security race
Boltz framed the incident as part of a wider shift in software security, where AI tools are increasingly being used by attackers to scan code and surface vulnerabilities at machine speed. In that environment, weaknesses can be found and tested far faster than in more traditional manual attack cycles.
At the same time, the company suggested defenders are also turning to AI to find those flaws first. Boltz's decision to halt swaps underscores the uncertainty of that race: while AI can improve security work, it can also compress the window between discovering a bug and exploiting it.
For now, the next confirmed step is limited. Swaps will stay disabled until further notice, while refund mechanisms remain accessible and the company continues to assess whether it can safely resume the service.
Source: decrypt.co