Acala and Karura Put February 2027 Shutdown to Vote

Acala and Karura will permanently shut down on February 10, 2027 if token holders approve two on-chain referendums, according to Acala Network’s announcement on November 9, 2026. The proposal covers Acala, a DeFi parachain on Polkadot, and its sister network Karura on Kusama, with supported assets facing three staggered exit deadlines.

What would the shutdown change?

Acala Referendum #195 and Karura Referendum #137 must each pass; until then, the closure remains a proposal rather than a completed wind-down. The mechanism gives token holders formal input instead of leaving users to discover that validators have simply stopped showing up.

Both networks would stop operating on February 10, 2027. ACA, Acala’s native token, and KAR, Karura’s native token, cannot be withdrawn and would remain on their respective chains after processing ends, leaving no supported exit for those balances.

In plain terms: approval would end network operation, not create a redemption mechanism for ACA or KAR.

How must users withdraw their funds?

Users holding external assets on either chain must withdraw them by February 10, 2027. The assets listed include DOT, KSM, and bridged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. These balances are distinct from ACA and KAR, which have no withdrawal route.

Liquid-staking positions face earlier cutoffs. Users must unbond LDOT by January 12, 2027, and LKSM by February 2, 2027. Those dates fall roughly four weeks and eight days, respectively, before the final shutdown. Unbonding removes staked tokens from a liquid-staking arrangement so they can be moved again.

The Acala Foundation’s detailed withdrawal guide makes responsibility explicit: “users are expected to retrieve their own funds rather than count on some recovery mechanism after the chains close.” The plan does not promise a post-shutdown recovery framework, leaving balances remaining after February 10 without a guaranteed claim route.

In plain terms: liquid-staking users must move first, while holders of other supported external assets have one final withdrawal date.

Why did the closure reach a governance vote?

The Acala Foundation has led nearly seven years of development, and its founders include Bryan, Ruitao and Bette. Karura launched on Kusama in June 2021 as a DeFi hub for the Acala ecosystem, offering liquid staking, a decentralized exchange and stablecoin functionality.

In 2022, a significant minting exploit hit the networks, leading to intervention and service pauses. The disclosed materials do not quantify the loss, so any dollar estimate would go beyond the record.

Support for the Wormhole bridge was discontinued in 2025, removing one route for moving assets between Acala and other blockchains. Binance delisted ACA in February 2026. These events frame the operating context, but the announcement does not establish any one event as the cause of the closure proposal.

In plain terms: the history shows material setbacks, but it does not demonstrate a single causal chain behind the shutdown.

What remains unresolved before the deadlines?

Both referendums remain open questions. Their outcomes, the amount of value still locked on the chains, and any effort by Polkadot ecosystem projects to absorb former Acala users will shape the fallout. The materials provide no current locked-value figure and name no replacement project or commitment.

On-chain voting gives token holders a formal governance record, while the withdrawal guide shifts responsibility to users. That arrangement is a timetable for self-service exit, not a promise of automatic relief for assets left behind.

In plain terms: the referendum outcomes and the January 12, 2027 LDOT cutoff are the next tests, and users have no promised recovery route if the chains stop with funds still in place.