A federal judge in New York has ruled to extend a temporary freeze on approximately $63 million in stolen USD Coin (USDC) held in three Ethereum wallets, supporting Singapore-based liquidators in the ongoing liquidation of the collapsed crypto bridge Multichain. Judge David S. Jones of the Southern District of New York issued the provisional order on Thursday under Section 1519 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, mandating stablecoin issuer Circle to maintain the asset freeze and preserve the dollar reserves backing the stolen USDC.
The order aims to prevent potential loss or misappropriation of assets while cross-border liquidation proceedings continue. The case was initially filed in New York state court but was moved to federal jurisdiction last week after Circle invoked the Class Action Fairness Act, which allows for the transfer of class actions meeting specific criteria. This move automatically paused a separate class action by U.S. investors seeking control of the same $63 million through litigation against Circle.
Singapore-appointed liquidators, from accounting firm KPMG, argued that lifting the freeze could cause immediate and irreparable harm if assets were moved outside coordinated legal proceedings. The next step involves seeking formal recognition of the Singapore liquidation as a foreign main proceeding under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, which would authorize the liquidators to act within the U.S. to recover funds under court supervision.
Multichain, formerly known as Anyswap, was a major cross-chain bridge facilitating token transfers between networks like Binance Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and Ethereum. Its collapse began in July 2023 after CEO Zhaojun was arrested in China, leading to abnormal transfers of $121 million in digital assets to unknown addresses and a total estimated loss of $210 million. The breach profoundly affected ecosystems like Fantom (now Sonic Labs), which had endorsed Multichain as its primary bridge. In May 2025, the Singapore High Court ordered the forced liquidation of the Multichain Foundation, appointing KPMG as liquidator after months of failed recovery efforts.
BTC
SOL
XRP
MIM
LTC
ETH