Summary
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)
2020-07-20
AnySwap launched as a cross-chain decentralized exchange by CEO Zhaojun.
2021-12-21
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.
2022-01-01
Multichain TVL exceeds $10 billion at peak, making it one of the largest cross-chain bridge protocols in DeFi.
2023-05-21
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.
2023-05-31
Multichain team publicly acknowledges inability to contact Zhaojun, citing unexplained operational disruptions.
2023-07-06
Approximately $126–127 million in assets begins draining from Multichain's Fantom, Dogecoin, and Moon River bridges. Multichain issues an 'abnormal' outflow warning.
2023-07-09
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.'
2023-07-13
Zhaojun's sister is taken into custody by Chinese police.
2023-07-14
Multichain formally announces cessation of all operations, citing the CEO's arrest, loss of server access, and inability to obtain operational funds.
2023-11-01
Multichain bridge briefly and secretly reopens; an additional $1 million is exploited. Fantom Foundation CEO attributes the event to former Multichain team members.
2024-01-16
Zhaojun's Telegram status changes to 'last seen recently,' fueling speculation about his status in Chinese custody.
2024-01-30
Fantom Foundation obtains default judgment against Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd in Singapore courts; neither entity contested the claims.
2024-07-08
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 and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:40 AM
last updated: 5/20/2026, 6:22:03 PM
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