Fantom Foundation Addresses Community On Multichain Exploit, Endorses Two Bridging Solutions

Today, the Fantom Foundation addressed its community on the multi-million dollar exploit on Multichain, acknowledging the difficult situations of its network users, token holders, and liquidity providers (LPs).

While awaiting “guidance” and an official statement from Multichain, the foundation said it would take direct steps to ensure the Fantom network adapts to the new circumstances.

This comes as a response to the uncertainty that clouded the Layer-1 project after the unauthorized movement of over $100 million worth of crypto assets from Multichain’s Fantom bridge.

Fantom Foundation: We Have No Official Cross-Chain Bridge

A report from trading firm Thanefield recently revealed that the Fantom blockchain relies on the Multichain cross-chain protocol. At the time, it was found that nearly 40% of crypto assets on Fantom (excluding its native FTM tokens) were transferred to the network through Multichain’s bridges.

For this reason, the blockchain had the highest exposure to the initial $126-million exploit, which also affected the Dogechain and Moonriver bridges. On-chain data reveals that nearly $120 million of the total funds came from Multichain’s Fantom bridge.

While acknowledging Multichain’s impact on its network’s TVL (total value locked) and “volume,” the foundation clarified that there are no “canonical” bridges on Fantom. This is to say that the blockchain doesn’t have an “official” bridge or platform to transfer assets between blockchains.

The FDN (foundation) also added that builders have “always been allowed to choose any protocol suitable for themselves and their projects.” 

That said, in the wake of recent events, the foundation would work towards decreasing the blockchain’s reliance on any one protocol for cross-chain services and liquidity.

Fantom Foundation Names Axelar and LayerZero As Alternative Bridging Protocols

In its community address, the Fantom Foundation noted that Axelar and LayerZero are gaining popularity among developers on its network. This could be a step towards expanding into other bridge solutions.

The foundation also mentioned that it will continue to promote new development options as new assets are introduced to the blockchain. “The FDN will continue to assist with awareness & encourage further development options as new assets are issued + adopted on the network,” the tweet read.

Furthermore, the Fantom Foundation aims to use both Axelar- and LayerZero-issued asset pools and the bridges themselves to promote liquidity. This will also help foster confidence in the protocols, the foundation added.

According to CoinGecko data, the FTM token is valued at $0.272559, with an 8.9% decrease in the past week. The coin has a market cap of roughly $762.5 million, making it the 55th-largest cryptocurrency.