Acala and its sister parachain Karura have submitted formal proposals to shut down their networks on Feb. 10, 2027, after seven years of development. The closures depend on the outcome of Acala referendum #195 and Karura referendum #137, which community members must vote on in the coming months.

Liquidity shortfall drives the decision

According to the teams’ joint community letter, both networks failed to achieve the deep, unified market needed for their stablecoin, lending and liquid‑staking products. The Polkadot multichain architecture, they argue, scattered liquidity across many shallow markets, while wallet integrations did not enable seamless cross‑parachain transfers. DefiLlama data from Nov. 9 shows total value locked of roughly $301,000 across Acala ($257,223) and Karura ($44,200), underscoring the limited scale of activity.

User withdrawal timeline and asset handling

The shutdown plan requires users to move all external assets—including bridged DOT, KSM, USDT, USDC and others—off the chains before the Feb. 10 deadline. Liquid‑staking positions face earlier cut‑offs: LDOT must begin unbonding by Dec. 16, 2026, with a final release deadline of Jan. 12, 2027; LKSM holders must start unbonding by Feb. 2, 2027. Borrowers of aUSD or aSEED must repay loans and free collateral before transferring assets. Liquidity providers must withdraw their pools, and lcDOT holders are directed to the Acala or Euphrates apps for exit.

What happens to remaining assets and tokens

Native ACA and KAR tokens will stay on their respective chains after block production stops; they are excluded from the external‑asset return process. For other assets left behind, the teams will attempt a best‑effort return to the owners’ Polkadot or Kusama Asset Hub accounts, but they warn that not every asset can be recovered. Treasury holdings not returned to users will be donated to the Polkadot Treasury (Acala) and the Kusama Treasury (Karura). The codebase and final state will remain public, allowing anyone to restart the chains, though no active maintenance will continue.

What to watch next

The next critical milestone is the community vote on the two referendums; a majority approval is required for the Feb. 2027 timeline to proceed. Observers will also monitor the withdrawal process for any bottlenecks, especially for liquid‑staking unbonding periods and the best‑effort asset return mechanism. Finally, the broader Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems may reassess parachain liquidity strategies in response to this high‑profile shutdown.