Trader capitalizes on Multichain launch to increase $280K to $1.9M; community raises concerns of potential insider involvement.

A wallet address transformed nearly 1.9 million Fantom (FTM), valued at $280,000, into $1.9 million within hours of the temporarily reopened Multichain Bridge, prompting speculation of insider involvement within the crypto community.

The Multichain Bridge, which had been inactive since its exploitation in July 2023, briefly reopened and then closed again on Nov. 1. The wallet capitalized on the fleeting opportunity presented by the bridge’s reopening to generate substantial profits.

It appears that someone managed to withdraw approximately $1 million from @MultichainOrg in the last three hours, despite it being reported as frozen.
They withdrew 1.2 million $FTM from Binance on @FantomFDN
traded for multichain WBTC/ETH/USDT
bridged out and deposited back to Binance. https://t.co/pP5GluGUH1 pic.twitter.com/AbUJVQBmds

— devops199fan ⌐◨-◨ (@devops199fan) November 1, 2023

Several depegged assets, including Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), were priced lower on the Fantom network compared to their counterparts on the Ethereum network. The wallet utilized the brief opening to exchange their FTM tokens for depegged assets on the Fantom network and subsequently transferred them to the Ethereum network, restoring their full value.

The wallet address beginning with 0x4372 first withdrew 1.9 million FTM tokens from Binance and exchanged them for Bitcoin (BTC) on the Fantom Network. It then used the BTC for a cross-chain transfer via the Multichain Bridge to Ethereum, receiving 28.4 wBTC ($977,000), 357 Ether (ETH) ($642,000), and 298,000 Tether (USDT).

Assets swapped by wallet via Multichain.

The wallet address subsequently bridged the assets out and transferred them to Binance. However, the crypto community’s attention was primarily directed towards the “Multichain executor” rather than the wallet address itself.

The Multichain Fantom bridge was exploited for over $126 million in July of this year; during that incident, numerous ERC-20 assets — including 7,214 Wrapped Ether (wETH) tokens valued at $13.6 million, 1,024 wBTC worth $31 million, and $58 million in USD Coin (USDC) — were siphoned off.

Related: Poly Network urges users to withdraw after exploit affects 57 crypto assets

Many users on X (formerly Twitter) questioned the timing of the transaction, suggesting it could be an insider job since the wallet was the sole beneficiary of the bridge’s reopening. One user noted that Multichain, which had been closed for over 120 days, reopened just long enough to facilitate these specific transactions that benefited the owner.

This is the situation.
Since the multichain incident, the bridge has been closed, making such actions impossible.
Magically, today the bridge reopened, allowing this individual to purchase BTC at a low price on Fantom and resell it on Ethereum.

— CryptoDinduz (@CryptoDinduz) November 1, 2023

0xScope, a Web3 data analytics company, informed Cointelegraph that there is currently no definitive evidence indicating an insider job by the trader.

“Upon examining Multichain, we found that it still has some chains operational, such as KCC, Moonriver, and Moonbeam. It is probable that the team behind Multichain is working to restart their operations.”

No official comments had been issued by Fantom Network or Multichain at the time of publication.

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