The High Court of Singapore has approved a winding-up order against Multichain Foundation Ltd., a once-prominent cross-chain infrastructure protocol, following a 2023 security breach that caused over $210 million in user losses.
The order, issued on May 9, 2025, came in response to a petition filed by Sonic Labs (formerly the Fantom Foundation), which was among the platforms affected by the hack.
The court appointed Bob Yap Cheng Ghee, Toh Ai Ling, and Tan Yen Chiaw of KPMG Services Pte. Ltd. as joint and several liquidators of the Multichain Foundation.
The liquidators will oversee the company’s dissolution and asset recovery, including compensation claims brought by Sonic Labs and other affected parties.
This legal outcome follows a default judgment issued earlier this year in favor of Sonic Labs, which sought damages for losses incurred during the exploit. Multichain’s representatives did not appear in court, leading the judge to rule based on uncontested evidence.
Understanding the Multichain Exploit and Legal Proceedings
Multichain, formerly known as Anyswap, operated as a decentralized bridge protocol allowing users to move assets between more than 10 blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, and Fantom.
In July 2023, the platform experienced unexplained withdrawals totaling over $210 million. The incident was later confirmed as a security breach, with suspicions falling on the project’s central control structure.
Evidence presented in court revealed that Multichain’s CEO, Zhaojun, held sole access to core administrative keys, which allowed unauthorized movement of user assets.
Despite initial claims of decentralization, this central control became a vulnerability point. The breach affected multiple protocols and ecosystems; Sonic Labs estimated that roughly one-third of the total losses were borne by applications on the Fantom network.
In its legal filings, Sonic Labs claimed that Multichain breached its user obligations and failed to maintain adequate security for the assets entrusted to it.
The court agreed, ordering the company to pay $2.18 million in compensation. With the winding-up order now granted, Sonic Labs may recover its awarded funds from Multichain’s remaining assets.
Crypto Under Siege: The Alarming Rise in Exploits
The liquidation of Multichain shows a growing trend of legal and regulatory responses to internal failures across the crypto industry.
This incident is just one among many damaging events that have rocked the crypto space.
According to blockchain security firm Immunefi, the first quarter of 2025 was the worst in crypto history for security breaches, with losses totaling $1.64 billion across 39 incidents.
Centralized exchanges (CeFi) were hit the hardest. Two major breaches accounted for the majority of losses: Phemex lost $69.1 million in January, and Bybit suffered a $1.46 billion exploit in February.
These alone drove losses to 4.7 times the total recorded in Q1 2024, when hackers stole around $348 million.
The North Korean-linked Lazarus Group is suspected to be behind both major attacks, responsible for $1.52 billion, 94% of total losses. “This marks a historic moment in crypto security,” said Mitchell Amador, founder of Immunefi.
While CeFi experienced only two attacks, they accounted for the vast majority of financial damage.
In stark contrast, DeFi protocols faced 38 incidents but incurred much lower losses of $106.8 million, a 69% decrease from Q1 2024.
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