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anchored·3Gfptk…LSLpSummary
Multichain (formerly AnySwap) was a cross-chain bridge protocol that collapsed in mid-2023 following the arrest of its CEO Zhaojun by Chinese police in May 2023, which resulted in the seizure of private keys controlling over $1.5 billion in user assets. On July 7, 2023, approximately $126–127 million was drained from Multichain bridge reserves in transfers widely attributed to Chinese authorities or insiders with access to the CEO's confiscated key material. The protocol formally ceased operations on July 14, 2023, leaving users with unrecoverable losses.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 3 more
Timeline(13 events)
20 July 2020
AnySwap launched as a cross-chain decentralized exchange by CEO Zhaojun.
21 December 2021
Multichain (formerly AnySwap) raises $60 million at a $1.2 billion valuation led by Binance Labs, with Sequoia China, IDG Capital, and Three Arrows Capital among investors.
2022
Multichain TVL exceeds $10 billion at peak, making it one of the largest cross-chain bridge protocols in DeFi.
21 May 2023
CEO Zhaojun He is detained by Chinese police in Kunming. His devices, hardware wallets, mnemonic phrases, and cloud server credentials — which controlled the bridge's MPC infrastructure — are confiscated.
31 May 2023
Multichain team publicly acknowledges inability to contact Zhaojun, citing unexplained operational disruptions.
6 July 2023
Approximately $126–127 million in assets begins draining from Multichain's Fantom, Dogecoin, and Moon River bridges. Multichain issues an 'abnormal' outflow warning.
9 July 2023
Zhaojun's sister allegedly accesses remaining customer funds via Zhaojun's cloud server credentials and transfers assets to wallets under her control, describing it as 'asset preservation.'
13 July 2023
Zhaojun's sister is taken into custody by Chinese police.
14 July 2023
Multichain formally announces cessation of all operations, citing the CEO's arrest, loss of server access, and inability to obtain operational funds.
November 2023
Multichain bridge briefly and secretly reopens; an additional $1 million is exploited. Fantom Foundation CEO attributes the event to former Multichain team members.
16 January 2024
Zhaojun's Telegram status changes to 'last seen recently,' fueling speculation about his status in Chinese custody.
30 January 2024
Fantom Foundation obtains default judgment against Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd in Singapore courts; neither entity contested the claims.
8 July 2024
Singapore High Court (Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal) rules Multichain owes Fantom Foundation US$2,187,870.55, finding the CEO held centralized control over bridge assets in breach of the User Agreement.
Decision Log
- hash: 8xjeGajh6fPh8Y7TeJbp2tJ4FPpoPFLwGhsdg4d5gJHj
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 14 of 18 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:40 AM
last updated: 8/30/2026, 5:14:10 AM
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