Cryptocurrency exchange Binance suspended deposits for 10 bridge tokens on May 25, after several days of stalled trading sparked uncertainty surrounding the Multichain protocol.
Affected token pairs include Polkastarter (POLS), Alpaca Finance (ALPACA), Travala.com (AVA), Spell (SPELL), Fantom (FTM), Alchemy (ACH), Beefy (BIFI), SuperVerse (SUPER), Harvest Finance ( FARM) and DeXe (DEXE). The move affects users of bridge tokens on the BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, Ethereum, and Avalanche blockchain networks. Withdrawals for these tokens and deposits on other networks are still available, according to Binance's deposit page.
Multichain (MULTI) remains silent on ongoing issues, adding to the uncertainty. As Cointelegraph reported, transactions on the protocol were delayed across multiple cross-chain bridges.
In a tweet on May 24, Multichain said some cross-chain routes were unavailable “due to force majeure,” noting that it was unclear when service would resume. This was the last communication of the agreement on the social media platform. Previously, the delay was attributed to backend node upgrades. Binance wasn't the only company taking steps during the unexplained outage. A wallet address linked to the Fantom Foundation reportedly removed 449,740 MULTI ($2.4 million) from liquidity on decentralized exchange SushiS wap. Additionally, on May 24 , blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported multiple outflows related to $3 million worth of smart money accounts. On Twitter, rumors circulated that Multichain's team had been arrested by Chinese police, with authorities taking control of $1.5 billion in smart contract funds.Cointelegraph reached out to Multichain, but did not receive an immediate response.
Binance's venture capital arm is one of Multichain's investors. In December 2021, Cross-Chain Protocol raised $60 million in a seed round led by Binance Labs, with other venture capitalists including Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Primitive Ventures, DeFiance C apital, Circle Ventures, Hypersphere Ventures, HashKey and Magic Ventures.
