Peter Zhang Apr 16, 2026 17:40
Approximately $133K in Wormhole-bridged WETH on Sei must be moved before governance vote disables IBC transfers as part of EVM-only transition.
Holders of Wormhole-bridged WETH on Sei Network are running out of time. The chain’s v6.4 upgrade has armed the protocol with the ability to disable inbound IBC transfers, and a governance proposal to flip that switch is imminent.
About 62 WETH—roughly $133,000 at current prices—remains stranded in this limbo. If you’re holding any of it, the message from Sei is blunt: get it out now or risk losing access entirely.
What’s Actually Happening
This isn’t a random technical change. Sei is executing SIP-3, a transition that will transform the network into an EVM-only chain. The Cosmos-native infrastructure that currently supports IBC assets like Wormhole WETH is being deprecated.
The v6.4 upgrade, which went live recently, doesn’t immediately block transfers. But it gives the protocol the mechanism to do so. Once validators pass the follow-on governance proposal, the door closes permanently for Cosmos-native assets.
Your Options Right Now
The simplest path: bridge your WETH back to Ethereum using Skip:Go or any Wormhole-compatible interface. From there, you can unwrap it to native ETH or move it wherever you want.
Got WETH locked in DeFi positions? This gets messier. If you’ve deposited Wormhole WETH into lending markets or liquidity pools on Sei, you need to unwind those positions first. Withdraw everything, then bridge out. Leaving assets in DeFi contracts after the governance change could mean permanent loss of access.
Why This Matters Beyond Sei
Cross-chain bridges have had a rough track record. Wormhole itself lost approximately $320 million in a February 2022 exploit that specifically targeted wrapped ETH. More recently, the Hyperbridge exploit saw losses balloon from an initial $237,000 estimate to $2.5 million, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities in bridge infrastructure.
Sei’s move to EVM-only simplifies its security surface but creates transition risk for users who haven’t been paying attention. The $133,000 at stake here is small by crypto standards, but it’s real money for whoever holds it.
What Happens Next
No specific date has been announced for the governance vote, which makes this more urgent, not less. Sei’s documentation suggests the proposal could move quickly once submitted. The SIP-3 migration guide on Sei’s docs site has detailed instructions, and the project’s Discord is fielding questions from affected users.
If you’re unsure whether you hold Wormhole WETH on Sei, check your wallet now. The window to act is measured in days or weeks, not months.
Image source: Shutterstock Source
