Catenaa, Saturday, November 08, 2025- A New York judge temporarily extended a freeze on three Ethereum wallets holding approximately $63 million in stolen USDC stablecoins Thursday, supporting Singapore liquidators of the collapsed crypto bridge Multichain.
Judge David S. Jones ordered Circle to maintain the wallet freeze and preserve the backing dollar reserves to prevent “immediate and irreparable harm” if the assets were moved or claimed elsewhere.
The move also pauses a US class action in which investors were seeking control of the same funds. That case was moved to federal court after Circle invoked the Class Action Fairness Act.
The order is provisional under Section 1519 of the US Bankruptcy Code, which allows courts to grant temporary protection before a foreign proceeding is formally recognized.
If the Singapore liquidation is recognized as a “foreign main proceeding” under Chapter 15, liquidators could operate in the US to locate, preserve, and recover Multichain assets under court supervision.
Multichain, formerly Anyswap, was a major cross-chain bridge linking networks including Binance Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and Ethereum. At its peak in early 2022, it held $9.2 billion in total value locked.
Problems arose in May 2023 after CEO Zhaojun’s arrest in China and abnormal transfers of $125 million from Multichain wallets, leading to an immediate shutdown.
The case highlights the complexity of recovering crypto assets across borders and the role of US courts in coordinating international liquidations. Circle, KPMG Singapore liquidators, and Multichain attorneys have not commented on the latest order.
