Multichain Hack 2023 — $125M Exploit Analysis

Multichain CEO's arrest led to unauthorized outflows as private keys held solely by the CEO became accessible to unknown parties.

Details

• Date: 2023-07-06
• Amount Lost: $125,000,000
• Chain(s): Ethereum, Fantom, Moonriver, Dogecoin
• Category: Bridge
• Technique: Insider
• Status: Laundered
• Amount Recovered: None reported

Full Description

Multichain's CEO Zhaojun He was arrested by Chinese authorities in May 2023. The protocol continued operating until July when massive unauthorized withdrawals began from multiple bridge contracts. It was revealed the CEO held all MPC private keys on a personal cloud account, creating a critical single point of failure.

Laundering Analysis

Funds moved to various EOA wallets. Some transferred to Binance accounts. Chinese authorities reportedly seized funds as part of the investigation. The protocol shut down operations. Conflicting reports about whether the funds constitute a hack or seizure by Chinese authorities.

Sources

• https://rekt.news/multichain-rekt3/
• https://twitter.com/MultichainOrg/status/1677180114227056641

Transaction Hashes

• 0x3b0b4e8f5e0ce6a2eaf67b6687be5d58113e16be590824d6cfa1a94467d0b7cc

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• BNB Chain Bridge (BSC Token Hub) — 2022-10-07 — $570M
• Wormhole — 2022-02-02 — $320M
• Mixin Network — 2023-09-23 — $200M

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