- Sources report that Multichain cofounder and CEO Zhaojun Zhaojun has gone missing
- Binance stopped deposits for Multichain-linked bridged tokens, such as AVA-ETH, ACH-BSC, FTM-ETH
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, has temporarily suspended deposits for a number of bridged network tokens amid rumors that Multichain co-founder and CEO Zhaojun Zhaojun has gone missing. Explanations from the Multichain team remain pending, Coingape wrote.
Multichain is a company developing cross-chain protocols for the blockchain industry, which was founded in 2020. Its platform creates infrastructure for leading exchanges, allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies on various platforms.
Disappearance is being investigated
The CEO’s disappearance is being investigated by police. The founder of Fusion Foundation, Qian Dejun, confirmed that he couldn’t reach the head of Multichain and expressed concern on Twitter, hoping he was fine and “nothing was seriously wrong with Multichain.”
Binance suspends deposits for Multichain-related pairs
Binance tweeted today that it would temporarily suspend deposits for bridged tokens linked to Multichain. After getting clarity from the parties involved, the exchange might reopen these deposits.
For now, deposits for SUPER-BSC, AVA-ETH, SPELL-AVAXC, POLS-BSC, ACH-BSC, BIFI-FTM, ALPACA-FTM, DEXE-BSC, FTM-ETH, and FARM-BSC remain suspended. It’s still possible to make deposits for these assets on other blockchains.
Funds stuck in bridges for hours
Earlier, Multichain confirmed that most of its protocol’s cross-chain routes were operating normally, but some were not available because of “force majeure” circumstances. It wasn’t known how long it would take to restore services. Users have reported their funds stuck in the bridge for hours. Multichain has said it would compensate users for their losses.
Panic withdrawals ensued
The Fantom Foundation withdrew $2.4 million worth of MULTI tokens on SushiSwap. It is the most strongly-impacted by the lack of availability of Multichain’s cross-chain routes, ahead of BSC and Optimism.
Multichain’s native token, MULTI, is currently trading for $4.83 according to Coinmarketcap data. It hasn’t been faring too well, having lost 11.30% of its value in the last 24 hours.
