Share this article
CEO of Colonial Pipeline to Face Congress Grilling Over Bitcoin Ransom
The CEO will face the Senate Homeland Security Committee to explain the reasoning behind his decision to pay a $4.4M bitcoin ransom.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:07 p.m. Published Jun 8, 2021, 6:00 a.m.
Joseph Blount, the CEO of Colonial Pipeline, is expected to face the U.S. Congress on Tuesday for his involvement in a bitcoin ransomware attack that nearly crippled his business.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Blount will face the Senate Homeland Security Committee to provide the reasoning behind his decision on May 14 to authorize a ransom payment of almost $5 million in bitcoin, according to a report by NBC affiliate news outlet KOB4.
Colonial Pipeline paid the bitcoin ransom to attackers linked to the Russian-based ransomware group DarkSide after Colonial's payment systems were locked.
Amid the chaos, Colonial had to halt transportation of fuel across the U.S. East Coast, which, in turn, sparked fears of a gas shortage across a dozen states.
See also: Top US Lawmaker Presses Big Companies on Ransomware Crypto Payments
Blount told the Wall Street Journal last month he made the payment because executives of Colonial were uncertain how deep the cyberattack had breached its systems or how long it would take to restore the pipeline's operations.
The CEO's appearance before Congress will have come a day after U.S. federal officials managed to recover $2.3 million in bitcoin of the ransom, more than half of the $4.4 million siphoned off by DarkSide.
A second hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee is slated for Wednesday, according to the report.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
Top Stories
