The protocol has been facing technical difficulties recently, with transaction delays across multiple cross-chain bridges.
Multichain Halts Some Services as CEO is AWOL.
Cross-chain protocol Multichain has halted services for several chains due to the inability to contact its CEO, Zhaojun, leading to speculation that the leadership may have been arrested in China. The protocol has been facing technical difficulties recently, with transaction delays across multiple cross-chain bridges.
Rumors on Twitter suggest that the Chinese police have arrested the Multichain team and seized $1.5 billion in smart contract funds, although these rumors remain unconfirmed. As a result of the CEO's unavailability and lack of permission to address the issues, Multichain suspended services for over 10 chains, including Kekchain, PublicMint, Dyno Chain and Red Light Chain.
The inability of Multichain to access the necessary server and resolve the problems has raised concerns about the protocol's decentralization. Binance responded to the ongoing issues by suspending deposits for 10 bridged tokens on various blockchain networks. The Fantom Foundation also removed a substantial amount of MULTI tokens from liquidity on the decentralized exchange SushiSwap due to the unexplained downtime. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported significant outflows of MULTI tokens from smart money accounts, totaling $3 million, last week.
The exact reasons behind Multichain's technical problems and the whereabouts of its CEO remain uncertain.
