Circle Freezes $63 Million After Multichain Hack

Circle, the company that issues USDC, the second biggest stablecoin, has frozen $63 million linked to the Multichain hack. Records from July 7 show that Circle stopped the hacker from using $27.65 million, $30.1 million, and $5.5 million in three different actions.

Multichain, a system that works between different blockchains, washacked on July 7, losing over $126 million in various tokens. The hacker got into Multichain's storage for funds that are locked between blockchains, and took the funds to their own wallet. 

This theft affected the Fantom Bridge, as the hacker took different tokens, including wBTC, USDC, and USDT, and a few other types of tokens. Money was also taken from the Moonriver Bridge. Reports say at least $6.8 million in different coins, including USDC, were taken to an outside address. An address linked to Multichain and Dogecoin lost over $600,000 too.

The stolen USDC has now been frozen, which means the community is a bit relieved. But it's not clear if Circle will give the funds back to Multichain. In the past, Tether Holdings and Circle, which issue the most popular stablecoins, have stepped in to stop wrongdoers from using stolen funds.

Peckshield, a company that focuses on blockchain security, was the first to spot the strange transfers of over $118 million from Multichain’s bridges. The Multichain team then took action.

After the hack, Multichain said the transfers were not normal, and stopped all actions while telling users to stop their protocol and cancel all contract approvals.