The first parachain auction winners on Polkadot and Kusama are winding down. In a letter to its community, the Acala team said both networks will stop producing blocks on Feb 10, 2027, subject to Acala Referendum #195 and Karura Referendum #137, with voting opening on Nov 9.

Users must withdraw DOT, KSM and bridged assets such as USDT and USDC before the deadline. LDOT has to be unbonded by Jan 12, 2027 (28-day unbonding), LKSM by Feb 2, 2027, and LDOT locked to a validator must be unlocked before Dec 16, 2026. ACA and KAR cannot be withdrawn and stay on their chains.

The team cited fragmented DeFi liquidity: deep markets never formed across Polkadot's many parachains, and both networks have been in maintenance mode with no significant upgrades.

Remaining external assets will be returned to owners' Asset Hub accounts on a best-effort basis, and the treasuries' external assets will be donated to the Polkadot and Kusama Treasuries. The team warned that any third-party "recovery" or "migration" service is a scam.