- Multichain, a decentralized cross-chain protocol, experienced a “force majeure” incident, causing a disruption in some cross-chain routes and leaving users with stuck transactions.
- Several major entities in the crypto space have reacted, with Fantom Foundation, HashKey Group, and Tron founder Justin Sun withdrawing significant amounts of assets.
- Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has temporarily suspended deposits of ten tokens bridged to Binance Chain, Ethereum, Avalanche, and Fantom.
In an unexpected turn of events, the decentralized cross-chain protocol Multichain recently experienced a “force majeure” incident, leading to a temporary disruption of some of its cross-chain routes. The unforeseen incident has left users grappling with stuck transactions since May 21, triggering concerns within the crypto community. In response, Multichain has promised to compensate its users and announced that details of the compensation plan will be revealed in due course.
While the exact time for the service to resume is unclear, the Multichain team assures users that most cross-chain routes still function well and pending transactions will be credited automatically once the service is restored. The cause of this issue has been attributed to a back-end node upgrade taking longer than expected, leading to a series of effects that the protocol is still dealing with.
Major Players React to the Incident
The repercussions of the situation have been significant, with the Multichain’s native MULTI token falling by 23.6% over the past day to $5.41, according to data from CoinGecko. Amidst these challenges, a few key players in the crypto ecosystem have taken action. The Fantom Foundation withdrew $2.4 million in liquidity of the protocol’s native MULTI tokens from the decentralized exchange SushiSwap, and Chinese crypto investment firm HashKey Group moved $250,000 to crypto exchange Gate.io. Additionally, Tron founder Justin Sun withdrew 470,000 USDD, a stablecoin, from the protocol.
As the situation unfolds, Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has temporarily suspended deposits of ten tokens bridged to Binance Chain, Ethereum, Avalanche, and Fantom. This decision comes as a response to the ongoing Multichain issues and the escalating concerns about the protocol. The bridged tokens affected by this suspension include pairs like AVA-ETH, ALPACA-FTM, FTM-ETH, and ACH-BSC across four different blockchain networks. Binance’s move is seen as a precautionary measure while awaiting clarity from the Multichain team.
Addressing the Concerns: Multichain’s Road to Recovery
Despite the current disruptions, it’s important to remember that Multichain, previously recognized as Anyswap, operates as a crucial decentralized cross-chain protocol. It enables the exchange of diverse cryptocurrencies across various blockchain networks through smart contracts and decentralized liquidity pools.
Multichain addresses the issue by upgrading the RPC-backend node, which serves as the conduit between the Ethereum network and web2, and offers APIs enabling clients to interact with the Ethereum network. The team has acknowledged that a router on the bridge was impacted, causing the pending transactions. Pools affected by the issue reportedly hold approximately 3,975 ETH, equivalent to about $7 million in zkSync, and over $322,000 in USDC.
As part of their commitment to transparency, the Multichain team has been actively communicating about the situation with the community. They have reassured users that their funds remain safe and pending transactions will be credited automatically and instantly once the problem is resolved. While this is undoubtedly a challenging time for Multichain and its users, the team’s proactive response offers hope for a swift resolution and future prevention of similar incidents.
