What are the main risks of using Fantom?
Fantom's main risks are bridge dependency, smart-contract bugs, validator centralization and migration. Multichain froze assets in July 2023.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
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People use Fantom for DeFi, NFTs and other Ethereum-compatible apps.
What are the main risks of using Fantom?
Bridge dependency is a risk because many Fantom assets arrive over bridges from other chains. In July 2023, the Multichain bridge stopped withdrawals, and assets bridged to Fantom froze. This exposed users who had never used Multichain directly. In December 2021, a reentrancy flaw in Grim Finance's vault let an attacker drain funds.
What does the Sonic migration change?
In 2024, the project announced a move to Sonic, an upgraded network with its own token, S. Holders can convert FTM to S. Stakers need to migrate their stake, and dApps need to update their contracts. The migration does not remove bridge or smart-contract risks.
How does Fantom work and who made it?
Fantom was founded in 2018 by Ahn Byung Ik, and its mainnet launched in 2019. It runs Ethereum-compatible apps. Lachesis is the consensus method. It lets validators process transactions in parallel. If too many validators go offline at once, the network can stall.
How do US rules affect Fantom?
US securities rules can affect Fantom tokens and platforms. The SEC has brought cases against exchanges over tokens it calls securities. A platform may restrict US users or delist FTM.
Frequently asked questions
No. Sonic is a separate network with its own token, S, from the same team. FTM and S are different tokens.
No. Once a transaction is confirmed on Fantom, validators cannot undo it.
There is no public SEC rule that names FTM a security. The SEC decides case by case under the Howey test.
The network keeps producing blocks if a small number go offline. A large outage can stall the chain.
