Fantom Seeks Money Back From Multichain’s $200M Exploit

The move aims to enable victims to “partially recover” assets lost in one of the biggest exploits in 2023.

AccessTimeIconMar 5, 2024 at 10:20 a.m. UTC
Updated Mar 8, 2024 at 10:38 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now
  • Fantom Foundation is taking legal action to recover assets lost in the $200 million Multichain exploit by seeking to wind up the Multichain Foundation.
  • Fantom plans to use its January legal victory in Singapore to pave the way for all users to claim their losses.
  • How a Year of Exploits and Hacks Shaped Regulatory Responses to Crypto
    00:53
    How a Year of Exploits and Hacks Shaped Regulatory Responses to Crypto
  • Speculation Keeps the Market Honest: Analyst
    01:00
    Speculation Keeps the Market Honest: Analyst
  • Traders Are 'Valuable Resource' for Crypto Market: Analyst
    06:08
    Traders Are 'Valuable Resource' for Crypto Market: Analyst
  • Investors ‘Still Engaged’ Despite Recent Market Turbulence, Gemini Exec Says
    00:42
    Investors ‘Still Engaged’ Despite Recent Market Turbulence, Gemini Exec Says
  • Fantom Foundation, which maintains and helps develop the Fantom blockchain, is seeking to claw back some of the assets it lost in a $200 million exploit of cross-chain router protocol Multichain in July.

    The foundation, which said it won a default judgment in Singapore in January when Multichain failed to respond, is now seeking to liquidate the company, a process that's equivalent to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S., so that any assets can be recovered and distributed.

    “While the current judgment relates only to Fantom Foundation’s own losses, the Foundation plans to use this legal victory to pave a path for all users to lodge their claims against Multichain,” Fantom said in a Monday post.

    Fantom noted its losses amounted to one-third of the amount stolen from Multichain. Other lost assets were spread across different blockchains, including Fantom, Ethereum and BNB Chain.

    Multichain was a bridging protocol that let users transfer tokens between different blockchains. The hack in July came days after its CEO went missing, its technology was failing, and certain nodes that ensured the platform's security were changed.

    Fantom had previously filed an action against the Multichain Foundation for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentations for losses sustained. While it has no legal right to recover funds on behalf of users, it said the legal proceedings will allow users and victims to take a similar course of action for recovery.

    Fantom’s FTM tokens were up as much as 22%, before retreating, in the past 24 hours. They were recently down 2.17%, while the CoinDesk 20 Index, a gauge of the broader crypto market, was up 3.57%.

    Edited by Sheldon Reback.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Shaurya Malwa

    Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.