Acala, a Polkadot parachain, and its Kusama sister network Karura have entered a shutdown phase, according to an official Acala disclosure reported by PANews on November 9, 2026, at 21:06:31 UTC+8.
If Acala referendum No. 195 and Karura referendum No. 137 pass, both chains will stop producing blocks on February 10, 2027.
Asset withdrawal and unbonding deadlines
The notice sets out the following deadlines for users:
- Before February 10, 2027: Withdraw cross-chain assets, including DOT, KSM, USDT and USDC.
- Before January 12, 2027: Submit LDOT unbonding requests.
- Before February 2, 2027: Unbond LKSM.
The chains’ native tokens, ACA and KAR, cannot be withdrawn and will remain on their original chains. The supplied report does not specify withdrawal routes or destination chains for the cross-chain assets.
Why the team is winding down the networks
The team attributed the decision to insufficient DeFi liquidity depth in the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. It also said the multi-parachain structure had fragmented liquidity and users.
The proposed block-production halt remains conditional on approval of the two referendums.
Source: PANews original article, published November 9, 2026, at 21:06:31 UTC+8.
