Some users of Digital X, a cryptocurrency exchange affiliated with Mirae Asset Group, are unable to retrieve their tokens as the company winds down its blockchain business.
Silicon Network, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain built by Hydrow — a joint venture set up by Digital X, formerly Korbit, and blockchain technology firm Ozys — will shut down entirely on Dec. 31, according to financial industry sources on the 7th. Users have roughly four months, from the shutdown notice on the 2nd through the end of the year, to move all assets held on Silicon to outside wallets.
Digital X launched Silicon in 2024 as it sought to reduce its reliance on trading fees. Modeled on Base, the layer-2 blockchain run by U.S. exchange Coinbase, it aimed to attract decentralized applications and let users trade cryptocurrencies within the Silicon ecosystem.
But Silicon is closing after about 18 months as Digital X restructures its businesses following its acquisition by Mirae Asset Group. The problem is that withdrawals from the Orbit Chain (ORC) staking service running on Silicon have been blocked.
Orbit Chain, a blockchain project by Ozys, has operated its ORC staking service on the Silicon Network since Silicon's launch. Holders delegate ORC to a validator of their choice and earn rewards, and the staked tokens count toward that validator's governance voting power. To reclaim staked ORC, users must go through an "unvote" process.
The unvote function for existing users, however, cannot be found on the ORC governance site. Users say the problem long predates the decision to shut down Silicon. Complaints have circulated in related online communities since last year from people who say they have asked dozens of times about recovering staked ORC without receiving a response.
Adding up the staking volumes listed by validator on the site, about 94.91 million ORC are currently staked. At the ORC price of $0.0007432 quoted on CoinMarketCap at 1 p.m. on the same day, that amounts to about $70,538, or roughly 100 million won. On its official Telegram channel, Silicon said it was responding only to inquiries related to the Silicon Network shutdown and would share further details as they were confirmed.
