Multichain Liquidators Win Key Ruling as New York Court Extends Freeze on Stolen USDC

Core Viewpoint - A New York bankruptcy court has granted provisional relief to liquidators overseeing the collapse of Multichain Foundation Ltd., directing Circle to keep wallets holding approximately $63 million in stolen USD Coin (USDC) frozen [1][2][5] Group 1: Court Ruling and Implications - The court's ruling requires Circle to maintain the addresses on its blacklist, effectively blocking any movement of the stolen USDC until further notice [2][4] - The order allows temporary relief under Section 1519 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which is crucial for the foreign case to receive formal recognition under Chapter 15 [3] - The freeze is necessary to prevent competing claims over the same funds, as a group of U.S. investors had filed a separate class action lawsuit against Circle [6] Group 2: Background and Recovery Efforts - Liquidators from KPMG Services Pte. Ltd. filed for provisional relief on October 23, arguing that lifting Circle's freeze could cause immediate and irreparable harm [3] - The Multichain hack resulted in a loss of over $210 million, marking it as one of 2023's largest DeFi exploits [2] - Circle initially froze the hacker-linked addresses in October 2023 at the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice, which later lifted the warrant after failing to identify the hackers [5]