A U.S. court in New York has extended a freeze on wallets holding around US$63 million in USDC stablecoins linked to the liquidation of the Singapore-based bridge operator Multichain, as part of cross-jurisdiction efforts between Singapore and the U.S. to reclaim assets and coordinate insolvency proceedings.
In a significant development for the crypto insolvency landscape, a New York state court granted a provisional order under Section 1519 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, ordering Circle Internet Financial to maintain the asset freeze on three Ethereum wallets that collectively hold approximately US$63 million in locked USDC. The freeze supports liquidators in Singapore working to recognise Multichain’s liquidation as a “foreign main proceeding” under Chapter 15, which would grant them standing in the U.S. to pursue claims, trace assets, and coordinate distribution.
Multichain, formerly known as Anyswap, was a prominent cross-chain bridge that enabled users to swap tokens across multiple blockchains. At its peak, the protocol had more than US$9 billion in total value locked. The bridge’s collapse in mid-2023, following irregular transfers and founder-related legal issues, triggered a major liquidation process. The recent U.S. court order reflects the complexity of recovering digital-asset flows that traverse jurisdictions, chains and on-chain wallets.
Cross-border asset preservation in crypto recovery efforts
The decision acts as a tactical move — liquidators argue that allowing Circle to unfreeze or release the assets before U.S. recognition of the foreign proceeding could lead to “immediate and irreparable harm,” as assets might move beyond reach of the Singapore-based liquidation estate. Simultaneously, a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. that sought control of the same US$63 million has been paused, pending the Chapter 15 review and coordination. The freeze thus buys time for international coordination, asset tracing and asset-preservation measures.
However, there are broader implications. This episode highlights how tokenised assets can complicate standard bankruptcy regimes and regulatory frameworks, especially when assets circulate across multiple chains and legal jurisdictions. Recognising a foreign liquidation proceeding gives Singapore’s liquidators expanded powers to act in the U.S., but the path is uncertain and subject to legal review.
For the crypto industry, the case underscores that infrastructure failures, bridge collapses and cross-chain asset flows expose participants to global insolvency risk—and that institutions are increasingly adapting to that reality. In short: the New York asset freeze extension is more than a procedural move—it signals that courts and regulators are taking crypto-asset recoveries seriously and coordinating across borders. The next steps will determine whether the assets can be restored to the liquidation estate and how future bridge failures will be handled in a multi-jurisdiction context.
The court papers as well as the timetable that would show sums and asset lists are still missing. Until they appear, every operator and treasury must check its own exposure and custody set up.
