Multichain halts on suspected $130M hack, 1 month after CEO disappeared

Multichain asked users to stop using its bridges after a potential exploit that affected its Fantom, Moonriver and Dogechain services

by Shalini Nagarajan /

July 7, 2023 08:46 am

WindAwake/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

Multichain has indefinitely halted its services after recognizing an unusual movement of a large number of tokens from its bridging networks to an unidentified address.

On-chain sleuths had earlier raised the possibility of a multi-million dollar exploit after noticing crypto was being pulled out from Multichain’s multi-party computation network.

“The team is not sure what happened and is currently investigating,” Multichain tweeted late Thursday.

“It is recommended that all users suspend the use of Multichain services and revoke all contract approvals related to Multichain.”

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

Multichain, formerly Anyswap, is meant to allow users to bridge their crypto assets between various blockchain networks. The team said all bridge transactions will remain stalled on their originating chains. No definitive timeline for when services will be back was announced.

Loading Tweet..

Hours earlier, blockchain security firm PeckShield warned Multichain about sketchy activity on its Fantom (FTM) bridge, showing token outflows of about $102 million.

The suspected exploit affected tokens including wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), USDC, DAI, ether (ETH) and chainlink (LINK). It is estimated the movements led to more than $130 million in losses.

Missing Multichain CEO raises concerns

Multichain had come under fire over the past month due to issues with its technology not functioning as expected. There’s currently $1.26 billion in total value locked with Multichain, per DeFiLlama.

Crypto exchange Binance has suspended various token deposits from Multichain on two separate occasions after several days of stuck transactions.

Adding to the troubles, the CEO has been mysteriously missing for more than a month. Speculation had circulated that some team members may have been detained by Chinese authorities.

In late May, the team said it was “unable to contact CEO Zhaojun and obtain the necessary server access for maintenance,” indicating the top boss was the only person with the right permissions to solve its problems at the time.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

ERC 8004: Introducing Trust for AI Agents

ERC 8004 introduces a new trust layer for AI agents by standardizing onchain identity, reputation, and validation. As agents begin handling capital and coordinating autonomously, trust becomes the key constraint to broader adoption. The rollout mirrors the early x402 narrative, where adoption lagged the initial launch until major integrations and a viral use case pulled attention into the ecosystem. If ERC 8004 follows a similar path, downstream infrastructure tied to the standard could see outsized benefit as the narrative gains traction. The primary beneficiaries are likely to be agent frameworks and launchpads at the distribution layer, agent to agent coordination platforms that enable delegation and payments, and validation providers that offer stronger security and execution guarantees.

by Kunal Doshi