Cross-chain protocol Multichain revealed on May 31 that its team has been unable to contact its CEO Zhaojun, sparking rumors that the protocol's leadership may be arrested in China over ongoing technical issues.
"The team has done everything possible to keep the protocol running, but we are currently unable to contact CEO Zhaojun and gain server access required for maintenance," the Twitter thread noted. As Cointelegraph reported, the protocol has seen transactions delayed on multiple cr oss- chain bridges without a clear explanation over the past week. According to rumors circulating on Twitter, Chinese police arrested Multichain's team and seized $1.5 billion in smart contract funds. Cointelegraph reached out to Multichain, but did not receive an immediate resp. onse. As of now, The rumors are still unconfirmed.
According to Multichain's tweet, certain protocols are affected by issues with Router5 nodes that support interchain connections. Unable to reach the CEO and without permission to fix the issue, the team suspended service on more than 10 chains, including Kekchain, Public Mint, Dyno Chain, Redlight Chain, Dexit, Ekta, HPB, Onus, Omax, Findora, and Planq.
“In order to protect the interests of our users, we have decided to suspend the corresponding cross-chain services for the affected chains on the UI,” the protocol team noted. On Twitter, members of the crypto community pointed out that Multichain's inability to access servers and resolve issues showed the protocol was a "backward step" toward decentralization. In response to ongoing issues without a clear explanation, Binance suspended deposits for 10 bridge tokens on the BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, Ethereum, and Avalanche blockchain networks on May 25. The unexplained downtime also caused the Fantom Foundation to remove 449,740 MULTI ($2.4 million) of liquidity from decentralized exchange SushiSwap. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain last week reported an outlet of $3 million worth of MULTI funds linked to smart money accounts.
