Anyswap Crypto Exchange Review: What Happened and Why It Became Multichain

By Robert Stukes    On 31 Oct, 2025    Comments (20)

Anyswap Crypto Exchange Review: What Happened and Why It Became Multichain

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Back in 2020, Anyswap was one of the most talked-about names in DeFi. It promised something no other exchange could do at the time: swap tokens between Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and more - all without handing over your keys. You didn’t need a middleman. No KYC. No waiting days for withdrawals. Just a direct, peer-to-peer swap across blockchains. For a while, it worked. But today, Anyswap doesn’t exist as it once did. It’s been rebranded. And its legacy is more complicated than most people remember.

What Anyswap Actually Did

Anyswap wasn’t just another decentralized exchange like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. Those platforms only worked within one blockchain. Anyswap connected them. If you had ETH on Ethereum and wanted BTC on Bitcoin, Anyswap let you swap directly. No wrapped tokens. No bridges that locked your assets in a contract. Instead, it used something called DCRM - Distributed Control Rights Management - a system built on Shamir’s Secret Sharing and private key sharding. That meant your private keys never left your wallet. The protocol split the signing process across multiple nodes so no single party could steal your funds.

This was groundbreaking. Most cross-chain tools at the time used wrapped assets - like wBTC or wETH - which meant your original asset got locked up, and a tokenized version was minted on the other chain. That created counterparty risk. If the bridge got hacked, your money vanished. Anyswap avoided that. It moved the actual asset using cryptography, not by creating copies.

It launched on July 20, 2020, with no presale, no VC funding. Just a team and code. Within 24 hours, it hit $7.79 million in daily volume. Liquidity pools exploded. Users earned up to 367% APY on FSN-ETH pairs. Binance even gave them a $350,000 grant in October 2020 as part of its Accelerator Fund. For a while, it looked like Anyswap was going to be the king of cross-chain DeFi.

Why It Started to Fall Apart

But innovation doesn’t always mean reliability.

By early 2021, users started reporting problems. Transactions would fail during Ethereum congestion. Gas fees spiked. And when a swap failed, you lost the gas - but didn’t get your tokens back. Reddit users documented losing $45 in fees on a single failed swap. Trustpilot reviews from May 2021 showed a 2.8/5 rating, with 68% of negative reviews citing transaction failures and 82% complaining about slow or nonexistent customer support.

Liquidity was another issue. While Binance was moving $1.5 billion in volume daily, Anyswap was lucky to hit $1 million. That meant slippage was high. You’d try to swap 10 ETH for USDT, and end up getting 9.2 because there wasn’t enough liquidity in the pool. The automated pricing algorithm worked on paper, but in practice, it struggled with low depth.

And then there was the learning curve. Anyswap wasn’t beginner-friendly. You had to understand slippage tolerance, gas limits, and which chain you were sending from. First-time users took 45 to 60 minutes to complete a single swap - and had a 35% failure rate. Documentation was patchy. GitHub repos had gaps. Discord and Telegram support took 8 to 12 hours to respond. For most people, it was easier to use centralized exchanges and just accept the KYC.

The Rebrand: Anyswap Becomes Multichain

On December 16, 2021, Anyswap officially became Multichain. It wasn’t just a name change. It was a full technical overhaul. The team moved to a new router system - Multichain Router v3 - with updated smart contracts and improved node architecture. The ANY token continued, but now it was tied to a new ecosystem.

At first, the market reacted positively. ANY’s price jumped from $1.20 in November 2021 to $7.15 in January 2022. Investors saw it as a second chance. But the problems didn’t disappear. In July 2022, the Multichain Router v3 was exploited. Hackers drained over $120 million in assets across multiple chains. That wasn’t a small glitch. It was a systemic failure. The same DCRM technology that once promised security was now the target of a massive exploit.

By late 2022, CoinMarketCap had stopped tracking Anyswap’s volume entirely. The listing was marked as “Untracked.” Trading volume dropped to near zero. The platform was moved to the “Exchange Graveyard” on Cryptowisser. The ANY token, which briefly peaked at $7.15, sank to $0.85 by December 2022. Today, it hovers around $0.90. PricePrediction.net says it could hit $14.55 by 2025. WalletInvestor says it’ll be $3.20. Neither is certain. The market has lost faith.

Falling Anyswap logo with hacker draining tokens, red gas fees exploding in pixel chaos.

How Anyswap Compared to the Competition

Here’s how Anyswap stacked up against other options in 2021:

Anyswap vs. Competitors in Cross-Chain Swaps (2021)
Feature Anyswap THORSwap Synapse Protocol Uniswap
Supported Chains Ethereum, BSC, Fantom, Avalanche, Polygon, Bitcoin (via wrapped) Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Solana, Avalanche Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche Ethereum only
Custody Model Non-custodial (DCRM) Non-custodial (Thorchain) Hybrid (some wrapped assets) Non-custodial
Trading Volume (Daily) $1M max $50M+ peak $30M+ peak $1B+
Transaction Success Rate 65% (users reported) 85%+ 80% 95%+
Gas Fees 0.40% taker, 0.30% maker 0.30% flat 0.30% flat 0.30% flat
Best For Advanced users needing direct cross-chain swaps High liquidity, lower slippage Ethereum layer-2 users Ethereum-only swaps

Anyswap had the most ambitious tech - but the worst execution. THORSwap and Synapse offered better liquidity and reliability. Uniswap was simpler and faster - if you only needed Ethereum. Anyswap’s edge was theoretical, not practical.

Is Anyswap (Multichain) Worth Using Today?

Short answer: No.

The platform is still technically live under the Multichain name, but it’s a shadow of its former self. The $120 million exploit shattered trust. Liquidity is minimal. The ANY token is volatile and illiquid. Customer support is nearly nonexistent. Even the official website redirects to Multichain’s main page - and there’s no clear path to use the old Anyswap interface.

If you’re looking to swap cross-chain tokens today, there are far better options:

  • THORSwap - Better liquidity, higher success rate, active development.
  • Stargate Finance - Uses liquidity pools across chains with low slippage.
  • Chainlink CCIP - Emerging standard for secure cross-chain messaging.
  • Centralized exchanges - If you don’t mind KYC, Binance and Coinbase offer fast, reliable cross-chain swaps with customer support.

Anyswap’s story is a lesson in DeFi: great tech doesn’t guarantee success. Without liquidity, reliability, and user experience, even the most innovative protocol can collapse.

Fading Anyswap interface replaced by warning-filled Multichain logo as users walk away.

What Happened to the ANY Token?

The ANY token was the backbone of Anyswap’s incentive system. Early users earned it by providing liquidity. It was used for governance and fee discounts. At its peak, it traded for $7.15. Now, it’s worth less than a dollar.

There’s no active burn mechanism. No new utility has been added since the rebrand. The team hasn’t released a roadmap for recovery. The token is mostly traded on low-volume DEXs. If you still hold ANY, you’re holding a relic - not an investment. Most exchanges delisted it. The only reason it still has a price is speculative trading.

Final Thoughts

Anyswap was a bold experiment. It proved that cross-chain swaps without wrapped assets were possible. But it also showed how fragile DeFi infrastructure can be. The technology was ahead of its time. The execution wasn’t.

Today, Anyswap is gone. Multichain survives, but it’s haunted by its past. The $120 million exploit is still the biggest red flag. If you’re new to DeFi, don’t waste time on it. If you’re an experienced user looking for cross-chain tools, look elsewhere. The lessons from Anyswap aren’t about the tech - they’re about trust, liquidity, and the reality that innovation without reliability is just noise.

For anyone still wondering if Anyswap is alive - it’s not. The exchange you’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore. What’s left is a cautionary tale.

Is Anyswap still operational as a crypto exchange?

No, Anyswap as a standalone exchange ceased operations after its rebrand to Multichain in December 2021. The original Anyswap interface is no longer accessible. While Multichain still exists, it is a separate platform with different technology and a damaged reputation due to a major exploit in 2022. Most users and exchanges no longer recognize Anyswap as an active service.

Can I still swap tokens using Anyswap’s old system?

No. The Anyswap platform was decommissioned after the rebrand. The smart contracts and liquidity pools associated with the original Anyswap interface are inactive. Even if you find a link to the old website, it will redirect to Multichain’s current platform, which does not support the legacy Anyswap routing system. Attempting to use old links may expose you to phishing risks.

What happened to the ANY token?

The ANY token still exists on Ethereum and other chains, but it has lost nearly all utility. After the Multichain rebrand, it was no longer used for governance or fee discounts. Its value dropped from a peak of $7.15 in January 2022 to around $0.90 in 2025. Trading volume is extremely low, and most major exchanges have delisted it. Holding ANY now is purely speculative, with no clear roadmap for recovery.

Was Anyswap secure?

Initially, yes - its DCRM technology was considered more secure than wrapped asset bridges because it didn’t lock user funds. However, the Multichain rebrand introduced new vulnerabilities. The Router v3 exploit in July 2022, which stole over $120 million, exposed critical flaws in the updated system. This showed that even advanced cryptographic methods can fail under real-world conditions, especially when node operators are compromised or contracts are poorly audited.

Why did Anyswap fail when other DeFi platforms succeeded?

Anyswap failed because it prioritized innovation over usability and liquidity. While platforms like THORSwap and Uniswap focused on reliability, user experience, and deep liquidity pools, Anyswap’s complex technology led to high failure rates, poor support, and confusing interfaces. It also lacked the marketing and community growth that helped competitors scale. In DeFi, even the best tech loses if users can’t trust it to work consistently.

20 Comments

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    DeeDee Kallam

    October 31, 2025 AT 13:50
    i legit lost $200 on this thing in 2021 and still get nightmares about gas fees. why did i trust it??
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    Malinda Black

    November 2, 2025 AT 01:10
    This is such a classic DeFi cautionary tale. The tech was brilliant but nobody cared about onboarding. I remember trying to use it and just giving up after 45 minutes of failed transactions. So sad.
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    Bruce Bynum

    November 2, 2025 AT 03:37
    Anyswap was the dream. Multichain is the hangover.
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    alvin Bachtiar

    November 3, 2025 AT 13:10
    LMAO the ‘DCRM’ was just crypto mumbo-jumbo wrapped in a fancy name. They didn’t solve anything - they just made it *harder* to use. The $120M exploit? That wasn’t a bug. That was the inevitable collapse of a house of cards built on ego and whitepapers. 🤡
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    Kymberley Sant

    November 4, 2025 AT 20:38
    i still have like 100 any tokens in my wallet lol. think theyre worth anything? or just digital confetti?
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    Phyllis Nordquist

    November 5, 2025 AT 11:17
    While the technical ambition of Anyswap was commendable, the operational shortcomings cannot be overstated. The absence of robust liquidity, coupled with inadequate user support and inconsistent transaction success rates, rendered even the most sophisticated cryptographic architecture practically unusable for the average participant. The market ultimately rewarded reliability over theoretical elegance.
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    Shaunn Graves

    November 6, 2025 AT 12:00
    You people are acting like this was some noble failure. Nah. They had $350K from Binance and still couldn’t fix basic UX? That’s not innovation - that’s arrogance with a whitepaper. If you can’t make it simple, you don’t deserve to exist in DeFi.
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    Eliane Karp Toledo

    November 7, 2025 AT 19:22
    DCRM? More like Dumb Control Risk Management. I know for a fact the devs were just using dummy nodes run by their cousins. The whole thing was a front. The $120M hack? That was the government pulling the plug. They knew it was too decentralized. They had to kill it.
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    Ron Cassel

    November 8, 2025 AT 18:58
    The ANY token is still trading? That’s not a market - that’s a cult. People are still buying it because they refuse to admit they got scammed. Wake up. This isn’t investing. It’s emotional hoarding. You’re not holding a token - you’re holding grief.
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    Masechaba Setona

    November 10, 2025 AT 06:33
    I told everyone back in 2020 that Anyswap was a trap. 🌑 The moment they said ‘no KYC’ and ‘no middleman’ - that’s when I knew it was a Ponzi with a blockchain skin. Now look. Dead. Just like every other ‘revolutionary’ DeFi project. We never learn.
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    Helen Hardman

    November 10, 2025 AT 14:35
    Okay but can we just take a second to appreciate how wild it was that this thing launched with no funding and hit $7M in 24 hours?? That’s pure community power. The fact that it fell apart doesn’t erase that magic. I still remember the first time I swapped ETH for BNB without a bridge - felt like magic. Even if it broke later, it was real for a little while. 💫
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    Nadiya Edwards

    November 10, 2025 AT 22:33
    You know what’s really tragic? The fact that Americans think ‘innovation’ means making things harder. Meanwhile, China and India are building real infrastructure. Anyswap was a luxury problem for rich degens who didn’t care about actual utility. We don’t need crypto that ‘doesn’t lock your keys’ - we need crypto that doesn’t make you cry.
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    Jeremy Jaramillo

    November 12, 2025 AT 00:10
    I used Anyswap for a few weeks in late 2020. It was the only place I could swap BTC to ETH without going through a CEX. I lost a few gas fees, sure. But I never lost my coins. That’s more than I can say for 80% of the bridges today. Maybe it wasn’t perfect - but it was honest.
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    Sammy Krigs

    November 13, 2025 AT 13:07
    i still have the old anyswap link bookmarked... just in case it comes back? lol idk why i still hold on
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    Elizabeth Melendez

    November 14, 2025 AT 05:06
    i know this sounds crazy but i still believe in the vision. the tech was ahead of its time. think about it - if they’d had just 6 more months to fix the UI and hire some support staff, this could’ve been the future. the fact that it died because of bad UX and not bad code? that’s the real tragedy. we need more people who care about making crypto *usable*, not just ‘decentralized’.
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    ISAH Isah

    November 14, 2025 AT 18:00
    The failure of Anyswap is not a failure of technology but of human nature. The desire to control without responsibility leads to collapse. The DCRM system was sound. The node operators were not. The lesson is not about bridges or wrapped tokens. It is about the moral bankruptcy of decentralized systems when governance is absent. We must build not just with code but with ethics
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    naveen kumar

    November 15, 2025 AT 11:50
    Multichain still exists? That’s like calling a corpse a ‘rebranded body’. The $120M hack exposed the entire model as fundamentally flawed. Anybody still using it is either a fool or a shill. The ANY token is a ghost. Don’t waste your time.
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    Wesley Grimm

    November 16, 2025 AT 22:47
    Volume dropped to near zero. Liquidity vanished. Token price collapsed. Support disappeared. Website redirects. No roadmap. No team updates. The metrics are clear. This isn’t a ‘cautionary tale’ - it’s a coroner’s report. The cause of death: incompetence disguised as innovation.
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    Bhavna Suri

    November 17, 2025 AT 16:56
    Why do people still talk about this? It is dead. Let it rest. There are better options now. No need to cry over spilled crypto.
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    bob marley

    November 19, 2025 AT 13:21
    You all act like Anyswap was some misunderstood genius. Nah. They were the crypto version of a startup that raised a Series A on a PowerPoint and a dream. The ‘DCRM’ was just a fancy way of saying ‘we don’t know how to code properly’. The $120M exploit? That was the audit team finally saying ‘this is a dumpster fire’. And guess what? They were right.

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