Multichain bridge
Overview
Multichain (formerly Anyswap) was a cross-chain bridge protocol that enabled token transfers between multiple blockchains using a lock-mint mechanism. It became defunct in mid-2023 after its CEO, Zhaojun He, was detained by Chinese police; because the protocol's MPC signing keys were controlled solely by the CEO, the team lost access to its wallets and more than $1.5 billion in user funds were frozen or drained before operations ceased in July 2023.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, Multichain connects to 2 tracked entities, most strongly to MULTI, Multichain $126M Collapse.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 2 of 2 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
supports_token | MULTI | 95% |
affected | Multichain $126M Collapse | 85% |
Frequently asked questions
What is Multichain?
Multichain was a cross-chain bridge protocol that allowed users to transfer tokens across different blockchains by locking the original asset and minting a representation on the destination chain.
What caused Multichain to shut down?
Multichain ceased operations in July 2023 after its CEO, Zhaojun He, was detained by Chinese police in May 2023. Because all MPC signing keys were controlled solely by the CEO, the team lost access to the protocol's wallets; more than $1.5 billion in user funds were frozen or drained, including roughly $126 million in anomalous outflows.
How did Multichain's bridge work?
The protocol used a lock-mint mechanism where assets were locked on the source chain and equivalent tokens were minted on the destination chain, relying on a set of validators to sign transactions.
What is Multichain connected to?
In the DeFi Intel knowledge graph, Multichain is linked to 2 other tracked entities, most strongly to MULTI, Multichain $126M Collapse.
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