Key Takeaways:
- Dogechain, a Dogecoin L2 network, is shutting down permanently
- Millions of DOGE remain bridged and may become inaccessible
- Users have a 60-day window to withdraw assets before the bridge closes
Back
Dogechain shutdown traps millions of DOGE as L2 bridge closes in 60 days
Dogechain, a layer-2 network built for Dogecoin, will shut down permanently, potentially trapping millions of DOGE tokens still bridged to the protocol.
"Dogechain services will be shut down, and users must bridge or withdraw their funds immediately," Mishaboar, a vocal Dogecoin community member, said in a warning to holders. He emphasized that millions of DOGE remain bridged and urged users not to wait, as assets could become permanently inaccessible after the shutdown process is completed.
The Dogechain team announced the sunset this month, citing current market conditions that made it increasingly difficult to sustainably operate and maintain the network. The bridge will remain operational for about 60 days before being permanently taken offline, the team said in a statement at the start of June. Users are urged to withdraw liquidity positions, close outstanding positions where applicable and bridge assets off Dogechain before the deadline.
Once the bridge shuts down, assets remaining on Dogechain will become permanently inaccessible, and tokens issued on the L2 will be lost. Historical blockchain data and network state may also become unrecoverable through Dogechain infrastructure, according to the team.
The shutdown follows a separate warning from Mishaboar in June urging old Dogecoin users who participated in Dogeparty to move funds from 2014-era wallets. Dogeparty, a tokenization platform on the Dogecoin blockchain, alerted the community that hackers continued to drain DOGE and tokens from wallets created in 2014-2015, likely due to a vulnerability in the seed generation process used by the original web wallet. That issue affected Dogeparty wallets created in 2014-2015, making urgent wallet migration necessary.
Dogechain was launched to bring DeFi, GameFi and NFTs to the Dogecoin community, but the project struggled to maintain operations as current market conditions deteriorated. The potential loss of millions of DOGE would reduce the accessible circulating supply, though the immediate impact is negative sentiment among holders who relied on the L2 for yield-generating activities. For context, DOGE is the largest proof-of-work meme cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and the shutdown of its primary L2 infrastructure raises questions about the ecosystem's scalability roadmap. DOGE holders are advised to check their positions on Dogechain and complete withdrawals before the 60-day window closes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
