tBTC Bridge Resumes Onchain Operations as Aave Freeze Persists

By Nathan Brooks

Threshold said on Nov. 2 that the tBTC bridge had resumed onchain operations after a security pause, while the application remained paused and Aave’s $119.9 million Ethereum Core reserve stayed frozen.

Threshold paused new deposits, minting and Bitcoin redemption requests on Oct. 30. Holding and transferring tBTC continued. The bridge lets Bitcoin holders use deposited BTC in DeFi, with the underlying Bitcoin secured by groups of network operators.

The distinction between onchain functions and application access defines the current restart. Threshold has not reopened the interface for standard user flows. Users also face a separate address-management constraint: the company advised them not to send BTC to previously generated deposit addresses or to resubmit pending transactions.

Once the interface returns, users must start a new deposit rather than reuse an old address. Those instructions define how users should re-enter the deposit flow after the restart.

Node and wallet controls

In its Nov. 2 security update, Threshold said: “all tBTC nodes were either patched or offline” as operators addressed a Linux kernel vulnerability. The company also said bridge wallets require a majority of independent operators to sign Bitcoin transactions.

That threshold leaves no single operator able to authorize a Bitcoin withdrawal alone, according to Threshold’s description of the bridge. Threshold described the issue as a Linux kernel vulnerability and a node-response process; the update did not identify an attacker or quantify a loss.

Threshold said tBTC remained fully backed. Its explorer displayed 4,320.46 BTC in bridge wallets, while Etherscan showed an Ethereum token supply of about 4,185.17 tBTC during reporting. Those reserve and supply readings were not identical, and the report did not reconcile the difference.

Aave’s reserve remains frozen

Aave froze its Ethereum Core tBTC reserve on Oct. 31, one day after Threshold paused the bridge. Aave’s interface showed about $119.9 million supplied to the reserve.

The freeze blocks new tBTC deposits and additional borrowing against the token. Repayments, withdrawals and liquidations continue, according to LlamaRisk, Aave’s risk service provider. Existing positions retain their health factors, and the freeze does not make them liquidatable, LlamaRisk said.

This distinction keeps the freeze separate from a forced liquidation event. Aave can continue processing specified exits and risk actions while preventing new exposure from entering the reserve. The bridge restart does not, by itself, change either condition.

What does the restart change for users?

For Bitcoin users, the immediate change is access to resumed onchain bridge operations, not a general lifting of transaction warnings or the paused app. The address guidance remains decisive: users should not send BTC to an old deposit address, should not resubmit pending transactions, and need a new address for any new deposit once the interface returns.

For Aave users, the restart does not restore lending access. LlamaRisk said: “The bridge restart does not itself lift those lending restrictions.” The risk provider plans to propose restorative measures once it has assurance that tBTC operations have returned to normal.

That sequencing puts two operational tests ahead of a full reopening: Threshold must restore the application and demonstrate normal tBTC operations, while LlamaRisk must assess that stability before putting any reserve changes forward. Until then, the bridge can function onchain while deposits through the app and new Aave borrowing remain constrained.

The next checkpoint is therefore verifiable operation, not an announcement alone: application access, normal node operations and LlamaRisk’s review must precede an end to the Aave restrictions.