Multichain’s China situation could take more than a year to play out, says Fantom’s Andre Cronje

Crypto Ecosystems • August 9, 2023, 10:06AM EDT

Published 5 minutes earlier on

Quick Take

Fantom Foundation’s Andre Cronje and Michael Kong discuss Chinese authorities seizing $1 billion in crypto and Fantom’s exploration of optimistic rollups.

Episode 75 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block's Frank Chaparro & Tim Copeland and Fantom Foundation's Andre Cronje & Michael Kong.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Youtube, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to [email protected].

Andre Cronje is the Director of the Fantom Foundation and Michael Kong is the CEO of the Fantom Foundation — the lead development team behind the Fantom Layer 1 blockchain.

In this episode, Cronje and Kong break down the sequence of events that led Chinese authorities to detain the Multichain CEO and seemingly take control of its network, and how Fantom developers are exploring optimistic rollups to connect to Ethereum.

Outline:

00:35 - China's Multichain Crackdown

03:10 - Multichain Rumors & Speculation

08:21 - Fantom x Multichain

14:08 - $65M Frozen USDC + USDT

17:56 - Chinese Government or Hacker?

20:12 - Crypto's Trust Problem

27:47 - Multichain's Impact on Fantom's Ecosystem

33:45 - Active Investigation

35:38 - Fantom as an Ethereum Layer-2?

38:29 - Layer-2s vs. Bridges

46:45 - Andre Cronje's Role at the Fantom Foundation

47:35 - Closing Thoughts

About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].