Acala and Karura Propose Shutdown Amid Low Liquidity

Acala and its sister network Karura have proposed shutting down on Feb. 10, 2027, after seven years of development. According to CryptoNews, the closure plan cites insufficient decentralized finance liquidity across the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems.

Shutdown plans remain dependent on the approval of Acala referendum #195 and Karura referendum #137. The team outlined the proposed closure in a community letter, noting that both networks have spent time in maintenance mode without significant protocol upgrades or growth.

Liquidity Fragmentation and TVL

In its explanation, the team stated that the trading depth needed to support its stablecoin, lending, and liquid-staking products never developed on Polkadot or Kusama. Instead of a single deep market, the ecosystem fragmented into many shallow ones. Polkadot’s multichain design divided liquidity, users, and attention among parachains, while wallet infrastructure struggled to make transfers seamless.

DefiLlama chain dashboards dated Nov. 9 showed $257,223 in DeFi total value locked on Acala and $44,200 on Karura, combining for approximately $301,423.

Withdrawal Schedule and Deadlines

Under the proposed timetable, users must remove DOT, KSM, and external assets bridged onto either network before Feb. 10, 2027. Liquid-staking holders face earlier deadlines due to unbonding periods. Ordinary LDOT positions must begin unbonding by Jan. 12, 2027, while validator-locked LDOT requires an earlier cutoff of Dec. 16, 2026. LKSM holders must begin unbonding by Feb. 2, 2027.

Native ACA and KAR tokens will remain on their respective chains and cannot be withdrawn through the external asset return process. Remaining external assets face a best-effort return process to accounts on Polkadot or Kusama Asset Hub, with no guarantee of full recovery.

Key facts

• Proposed shutdown date: Feb. 10, 2027, subject to governance referendums #195 and #137.
• Combined TVL reported via DefiLlama on Nov. 9 stood at approximately $301,423.
• LDOT unbonding deadline set for Jan. 12, 2027, or Dec. 16, 2026, for validator-locked positions.
• LKSM unbonding deadline set for Feb. 2, 2027.
• Native ACA and KAR tokens will remain on their respective chains after block production stops.