Audit log

Every state-changing event for Multichain: moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot taken at submission time, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-05-20 18:22:03Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchoranchored

   chain

   ●mainnet-betaslot 421,038,837

   sig

   3GfptkneNRxY…bEu6LSLpcopyexplorer ↗

   hash

   8xjeGajh6fPh…g4d5gJHjcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…full verify ↗

   canonical bytes (6673 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a7494e2f-bbed-4892-a2cc-55eee9a00bae","kind":"publish","page_slug":"multichain","published_at":"2026-05-20T18:22:03.210Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Multichain","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multichain-previously-anyswap-raises-a-60m-financing-round-led-by-binance-labs-301448810.html"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://creditcoin.org/blog/life-after-multichain/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://li.fi/knowledge-hub/multichain-a-deep-dive/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-14/crypto-bridge-multichain-shuts-down-says-chinese-police-arrested-ceo"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/07/14/crypto-bridging-protocol-multichain-ceases-operations"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2024_SGHC_173"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/multichain-halts-use-of-crypto-bridge-saying-ceo-arrested/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://unchainedcrypto.com/hack-or-rugpull-multichain-sees-126-million-abnormal-outflows/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/238299/multichain-warning-outflow"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://decrypt.co/147622/126m-multichain-funds-abnormally-moved-unknown-address-says-project"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2023/07/210074-multichain-halts-operations-as-ceo-zhaojuns-sister-now-detained-by-chinese-authorities-might-be-holding-220m-of-funds/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/multichain-exploit-july-2023/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/singapore-court-fuels-view-multichain-hack-was-inside-job/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://protos.com/multichain-protocol-secretly-restarts-to-another-1-million-exploit/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2024_SGHC_173"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/singapore-court-fuels-view-multichain-hack-was-inside-job/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2117693"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/01/16/multichain-ceo-resurfaces-amid-speculation-over-his-release/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/multichain-exploit-july-2023/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-multichain-hack-july-2023"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://protos.com/multichain-protocol-secretly-restarts-to-another-1-million-exploit/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/multichain-stops-operations-over-lack-of-funds"}]}],"sources_used":[],"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.","timeline":[{"date":"2020-07-20","event":"AnySwap launched as a cross-chain decentralized exchange by CEO Zhaojun.","source":""},{"date":"2021-12-21","event":"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.","source":""},{"date":"2022-01-01","event":"Multichain TVL exceeds $10 billion at peak, making it one of the largest cross-chain bridge protocols in DeFi.","source":""},{"date":"2023-05-21","event":"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.","source":""},{"date":"2023-05-31","event":"Multichain team publicly acknowledges inability to contact Zhaojun, citing unexplained operational disruptions.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-06","event":"Approximately $126–127 million in assets begins draining from Multichain's Fantom, Dogecoin, and Moon River bridges. Multichain issues an 'abnormal' outflow warning.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-09","event":"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.'","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-13","event":"Zhaojun's sister is taken into custody by Chinese police.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-14","event":"Multichain formally announces cessation of all operations, citing the CEO's arrest, loss of server access, and inability to obtain operational funds.","source":""},{"date":"2023-11-01","event":"Multichain bridge briefly and secretly reopens; an additional $1 million is exploited. Fantom Foundation CEO attributes the event to former Multichain team members.","source":""},{"date":"2024-01-16","event":"Zhaojun's Telegram status changes to 'last seen recently,' fueling speculation about his status in Chinese custody.","source":""},{"date":"2024-01-30","event":"Fantom Foundation obtains default judgment against Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd in Singapore courts; neither entity contested the claims.","source":""},{"date":"2024-07-08","event":"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.","source":""}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 8ee84f01-88e0-4231-9a6d-3ad4ec3dca39copy