Scope and Duration of the Freeze
Published 6/20/2026, 7:31:42 PM
The extended Multichain USDC freeze represents a transition from a technical security breach to a protracted international legal battle. For affected users, this means that while approximately $63–$65 million in USDC remains secured and "frozen" (preventing the hackers from cashing out), there is currently no technical mechanism for users to reclaim these funds. Recovery now depends entirely on the outcome of competing liquidation and class-action proceedings in Singapore and New York.
Scope and Duration of the Freeze
The freeze originated from a July 2023 exploit where approximately $126 million was drained from Multichain’s MPC (Multi-Party Computation) bridges. While over half the stolen assets remain at large, Circle and Tether successfully blacklisted specific addresses to lock a portion of the funds.
| Asset | Amount Frozen | Current Status | Legal/Technical Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDC | ~$63–$65M | Frozen (Extended) | NY Court Provisional Relief (Oct 2025) [Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/05/multichain-liquidators-win-us-court-order-to-keep-63m-in-usdc-frozen/] |
| USDT | ~$2.53M | Frozen | Tether Blacklist (July 2023) [Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/05/multichain-liquidators-win-us-court-order-to-keep-63m-in-usdc-frozen/] |
| ICE Tokens | ~$1.85M | Burned | Protocol Action (July 2023) [Source: https://twitter.com/MultichainOrg/status/1677237485370654720] |
As of June 2026, the freeze has been extended by a New York bankruptcy court. This was necessary because the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicated it would lift its original seizure warrant due to an inability to identify the hackers, which would have otherwise allowed the funds to be moved [Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/05/multichain-liquidators-win-us-court-order-to-keep-63m-in-usdc-frozen/].
Impact on Affected Users
Users with assets on Fantom, Moonriver, Dogechain, and Conflux who utilized the Multichain bridge are the most severely impacted.
- Loss of Access: Because the Multichain team lost access to MPC keys following the 2023 arrest of CEO Zhao Jun, the protocol is non-functional. Transactions are "stuck" on source chains with no way to trigger the destination mint/release [Source: https://twitter.com/MultichainOrg/status/1679769155139330049].
- Financial Deadlock: Users cannot swap or bridge their "anyUSDC" or other Multichain-pegged assets for native USDC. These assets often trade at a near-total discount on secondary markets due to the lack of backing.
- Legal Dependency: Affected individuals are now "creditors" in a liquidation process. Their only path to recovery is through the distribution of the $63M in frozen USDC, which is currently being fought over by Singapore-based liquidators and U.S. class-action litigants.
Current Status and Recovery Efforts
The protocol has permanently ceased operations. Recovery efforts have shifted to the courtroom:
- Singapore Liquidation: Liquidators appointed by the Singapore High Court (following a petition by Sonic Labs, formerly Fantom) are leading the effort to collect and redistribute remaining assets [Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/05/multichain-liquidators-win-us-court-order-to-keep-63m-in-usdc-frozen/].
- Chapter 15 Bankruptcy: The liquidators have sought recognition in the U.S. to ensure the $63M held by Circle (a U.S. company) is handed over to the liquidation estate rather than being released to the hackers or seized by other parties.
- Unfrozen Assets: Approximately $56 million in other assets (DAI, LINK, WBTC, wETH) was never frozen and is considered lost, as these protocols do not have the same centralized "blacklist" capabilities as Circle or Tether.
Conclusion: For users, the "extended freeze" is a double-edged sword. It prevents the total loss of $63M to the hackers, but it also ensures the funds remain inaccessible for the foreseeable future as legal teams debate the priority of claims. Recovery is likely to take years and will result in only partial compensation for the total value lost.