Key Points
- The Fantom Foundation has won a default judgement against the Multichain cross-chain protocol in Singapore’s High Court.
- The court ruling authorizes the liquidation of Multichain Foundation’s assets, facilitating Fantom’s recovery of $122 million lost in a July 2023 exploit.
The Fantom Foundation has emerged victorious in a significant legal case against the Multichain cross-chain protocol. This case was heard in the High Court of Singapore.
The court has granted a default judgement in favor of Fantom. This judgement permits the liquidation of the Multichain Foundation’s assets. This liquidation will aid Fantom in recouping its $122 million, lost during an exploit of the Multichain Fantom bridge in July 2023.
The Court Ruling and its Implications
On January 30, Registrar Tan Boon Heng of the General Division of the High Court of Singapore issued the default judgement. The judgement retroactively took effect from November 30, 2023.
This ruling marks a significant step towards recovering the assets lost in last July’s exploit of Multichain’s Fantom bridge protocol. The total lost assets amount to $122 million.
The Fantom Foundation is actively advocating for the liquidation of the Multichain Foundation. This will hasten the recovery of the exploited funds. The default judgement not only supports Fantom’s request but also signifies an important milestone in addressing the situation.
The Multichain Fantom bridge exploit resulted in the loss of over $210 million in assets across various chains. These chains include Fantom, Ethereum, BNB, Cronos, Polygon, Arbitrum, zkSync, Optimism, and Moonbeam. The Fantom ecosystem suffered approximately one-third of these losses.
Legal Action and Future Steps
After failing to engage with the former directors and key personnel of the Multichain Foundation, Fantom initiated legal proceedings against them. The charges were breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentations leading to Fantom’s losses.
Fantom has clarified in a statement that it bears no responsibility or liability for the actions of third-party infrastructure partners.
In the upcoming months, Fantom intends to further the matter until a liquidator is appointed. The foundation will provide all necessary information and investigative material to aid the liquidator’s efforts in asset recovery.
In early 2024, Fantom strategically reduced the minimum staking requirements for validators from 500,000 FTM to 50,000 FTM. This adjustment was designed to encourage network participation and accessibility for validators.
Predictions for Fantom’s price have been optimistic, indicating potential growth in the coming years. Currently, Fantom is trading at $0.66, reflecting an over 90% price increase in the last 30 days.
