# Multichain (? – 2023)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/multichain/
- Sector: Crypto and blockchain
- Country: Singapore
- Total funding: $60 million
- Unicorn: yes, peak valuation $1.2 billion
- Cause of closure: Team problems

## What did it do?

Multichain was a bridge protocol, first called Anyswap, that moved crypto assets between blockchains. It took the Multichain name in December 2021. That same month a USD 60 million round led by Binance Labs, with Sequoia China and IDG Capital taking part, brought a valuation of about USD 1.2 billion. More than USD 5 billion was locked in the protocol at the time.

## Why did it shut down?

According to Multichain, police took chief executive Zhaojun from his home on 21 May 2023 and the team lost contact with him. Because only he had server access, transfers got stuck; his family helped restart part of the service in early June. On 6 July 2023 more than USD 126 million moved out of the bridges to unknown addresses. On 14 July 2023 the team said Zhaojun's sister had also been taken into custody, that police had seized devices, and that it was ceasing operations. Fantom Foundation won a default judgment in Singapore in January 2024. On 9 May 2025 a Singapore court ordered Multichain Foundation wound up on a petition by Sonic Labs, with KPMG appointed liquidator.

## The story

Moving between blockchains was hard, and Anyswap was one of the bridges that solved it. In December 2021 it became Multichain and, that same month, raised USD 60 million in a round led by Binance Labs with Sequoia China and IDG. The valuation was about USD 1.2 billion, and more than USD 5 billion was locked in the protocol.

Inside this apparently decentralised structure there was a startling single point of failure. Only chief executive Zhaojun had access to the servers. In late May 2023 transfers began to stall and users complained on Telegram. The team later explained: police had taken Zhaojun from his home on 21 May and contact had been lost.

On 6 July 2023 more than USD 126 million moved out of the bridges to unknown addresses. A week later the team wrote that his sister had also been taken into custody, that police had seized devices and keys, and that it was stopping operations. The rest played out in court: on 9 May 2025 a Singapore court ordered the foundation wound up and KPMG became liquidator.

## Lessons

- If the product you sell as decentralised depends on one person's keys, that person is your real risk. Write down how many hours it would take to recover if your chief executive vanished, then test it.
- On infrastructure carrying billions, shared control is not a later job. Institutional key management should have been the first spend once investor money arrived.
- Do not hide a dependence on one person from users. Here the problem looked like a service outage for weeks; open communication would have given people time to pull out their assets.

## Sources

- [Multichain Shutters Operations After Chinese Police Take CEO and Sister Into Custody](https://decrypt.co/148559/multichain-shutters-operations-chinese-police-take-ceo-sister-custody)
- [Binance Labs Leads Multichain's $60 Million Funding Round](https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/binance-labs-leads-multichains-60-million-funding-round/)
- [Sonic Labs wins judgment, Multichain Foundation to wind up](https://cointelegraph.com/news/sonic-labs-wins-judgment-multichain-foundation-to-wind-up)
- [Hack or Rugpull? Multichain Sees $126 Million in Abnormal Outflows](https://unchainedcrypto.com/hack-or-rugpull-multichain-sees-126-million-abnormal-outflows/)
- [Footprint Analytics: Will the rebranded Anyswap be the next Web 3.0 bridge?](https://cryptoslate.com/footprint-analytics-will-the-rebranded-anyswap-be-the-next-web-3-0-bridge/)