The USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle has reacted by freezing $63 million that was stored in three wallet addresses linked to the most recent security breach of the Multichain cross-chain bridge technology. Circle allegedly locked $27.65 million, $30.1 million, and $5.5 million from the addresses that had significant withdrawals as a result of the theft, according to information from security company PeckShield.
A strange movement of almost $126 million worth of digital assets from Multichain’s bridge deployments on Fantom, Moonriver, and Dogechain to different third-party wallets caused the problem. In a late-night tweet on Thursday, Multichain recognized the breach and said that an investigation was being conducted, but it was unsure of the exact reason. Multichain recommended consumers to stop using their services and withdraw any related contract approvals as a precaution.
Multichain, previously Anyswap, makes it easier to move bitcoin assets across several blockchain networks. Early this year, there were issues with the platform due to claims that the Multichain crew had been detained by Chinese authorities. Unfounded claims have appeared about the hardware and cold wallet of the network being under the control of Chinese officials.
Due to these worries, Binance stated that it will no longer support deposits and withdrawals for a number of cross-chain bridge tokens associated with the Multichain project.
According to cryptocurrency portfolio app De.Fi, the Multichain event occurs at the same time as a rise in thefts and con games in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector in the second quarter of 2023. The research claims that hackers attacked digital assets valued at more than $204 million in a number of instances, which is an increase of more than seven times when compared to the same quarter last year.
Despite an increase in instances, the overall amount stolen during the quarter was far less than it was during the same time period last year, when fraudsters and hackers stole around $40 billion. According to the data, thefts totaled over $667 million in the first half of 2023. With $240 million lost and $178 million recovered in March, the month had the biggest losses, followed by February with $156 million lost and only $30,000 recovered.
The DeFi industry continues to experience security issues, thus efforts to strengthen security protocols and safeguard user money are essential to preserving the ecosystem’s stability and sense of confidence.
