Multichain Crypto Project Bridging Blockchains, Shuts Down Amid Founder’s Detainment by Chinese Authorities

Multichain Crypto Project Bridging Blockchains, Shuts Down Amid Founder’s Detainment by Chinese Authorities

Multichain, a cryptocurrency project that aimed to connect different blockchains, recently made the distressing announcement of its imminent shutdown. This decision came as a direct result of the news that the project’s founder had been apprehended by Chinese law enforcement authorities.

In a Twitter post issued on Friday, Multichain disclosed further information surrounding the sudden vanishing of its founder and CEO, known only by the name Zhaojun, which occurred in late May. Multichain had established itself as a crypto bridge, enabling users to seamlessly exchange digital tokens across diverse blockchains.

Since Zhaojun’s disappearance, speculations regarding his whereabouts have been rife, amplified by Multichain’s revelation on July 7 that a substantial amount exceeding $120 million had inexplicably flowed out of their assets. Adding to the complexity of the situation, Multichain disclosed on Friday that Zhaojun’s sister had transferred the remaining user assets to wallets under her control before she, too, was detained.

Highlighting the severity of the situation, BlockSec, a specialist in digital-asset security, identified additional outflows of $103 million from Multichain on July 11, tracing them back to addresses associated with Zhaojun’s sister.

The circumstances surrounding Multichain’s closure and the apprehension of its founder and his sister have raised concerns and cast a cloud of uncertainty over the project’s future.