Jul 07, 2023 Frank Stewskid
Security Breach: Multichain (formerly Anyswap) Hit for $120 Million in Crypto Assets
The cross-chain bridging protocol Multichain, previously known as Anyswap, has fallen victim to an exploit resulting in the theft of over $120 million worth of crypto assets. The incident was initially brought to light by Twitter users and later confirmed by reputable security firms. Shortly after, the Multichain team released a statement acknowledging the attack and stating that they are currently investigating the cause.
The lockup assets on the Multichain MPC address have been moved to an unknown address abnormally.
— Multichain (Previously Anyswap) (@MultichainOrg) July 6, 2023
The team is not sure what happened and is currently investigating.
It is recommended that all users suspend the use of Multichain services and revoke all contract approvals…
According to the statement issued by Multichain, the team remains uncertain about the specific vulnerabilities that facilitated the exploit. The stolen funds include 7,214 WETH (approximately $13.5 million), 1,024 WBTC (equivalent to about $31 million), and $58 million worth of USDC, all taken from the Multichain Fantom Bridge's Ethereum contract. In addition, the Ethereum contract responsible for Multichain's Dogecoin bridge experienced an outflow of over 85% of its total deposits, resulting in a loss of approximately $666,000. Even Multichain's Moonriver bridge was not spared, as the exploiter targeted its Ethereum contract and managed to acquire $5,872,661 worth of USDC and USDT.
This unfortunate incident marks the second time Multichain has suffered an exploit. In July 2021, the project's newly implemented V3 router fell victim to an attack, impacting V3 liquidity pools and resulting in a loss of $2,398,496 USDC and 5,509,227 MIM. Following that incident, Multichain promptly addressed the issue, patched the vulnerability, and reimbursed all users for their losses.
Multichain now faces the challenge of investigating the latest exploit, ensuring the necessary security measures are in place, and taking appropriate steps to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
