- This is the first large-scale investigation of how blockchains might interfere in user transactions to limit security issues like as breaches and exploits.
- An artificial intelligence-driven analysis was mixed with human assessment in the report, which looked at 166 different blockchain networks.
According to a report that was recently published by Bybit‘s Lazarus Security Lab, 16 of the most prominent blockchains come equipped with technology that enables them to restrict or freeze user funds.
This is the first large-scale investigation of how blockchains might interfere in user transactions to limit security issues like as breaches and exploits. The report is named “Blockchain Freezing Exposed: Examine The Impact of Fund Freezing Ability in Blockchain,” and it is the first of its kind.
An artificial intelligence-driven analysis was mixed with human assessment in the report, which looked at 166 different blockchain networks. According to the findings of the researchers, while there are now 16 chains that have freezing capabilities, there are additional 19 chains that may introduce them with very small protocol alterations.
The following three unique sorts of techniques for freezing funds are identified in the report:
- Hardcoded freezing, incorporated directly into the code of the blockchain (for example, BNB Chain and VeChain).
- Configuration-based freezing, which may be handled using foundation settings or validator settings (for example, Sui or Aptos setting).
- On-chain contract freezing, carried out via the use of system contracts (for example, HECO)
The research covers a number of noteworthy examples, including:
- Following the hacking of Cetus, Sui froze assets for a total of $162 million.
- In the aftermath of the incident, Aptos eventually implemented blacklisting capabilities.
- BNB Chain was able to prevent a bridge exploit that was worth $570 million by using hardcoded blacklists.
- An early precedent was established by VeChain in 2019 when it froze funds as a result of a hack that cost $6.6 million.
- Possibly in the future, similar interventions will be possible thanks to the modular account design of Cosmos.
The aforementioned actions serve as a demonstration of how fund-freezing features may be used as emergency solutions to safeguard consumers and reduce the extent of harm caused by widespread security breaches.
“Blockchain was built on the principle of decentralization — yet our research shows that many networks are developing pragmatic safety mechanisms to respond quickly to threats,” said David Zong, Head of Group Risk Control and Security at Bybit. “At Bybit, we believe transparency builds trust. Our goal is to encourage open dialogue and better governance across the industry. ”
An artificial intelligence-assisted detection framework was developed by Bybit’s Lazarus Security Lab in order to carry out the evaluation. This framework was designed to search codebases for modules that enable blacklisting, transaction filtering, or dynamic configuration modifications. After that, human researchers evaluated each instance to guarantee that it was accurate.
The research comes to the conclusion that the openness around emergency intervention tools need to become a fundamental component of blockchain governance. It also recommends that projects declare publicly whether or not they are able to interfere in on-chain activities and how they may do so.
As the cryptocurrency industry evolves, the research comes to the conclusion that clear and open safety methods will assist in the development of long-term confidence among consumers and institutions.
This is the link where the whole research, titled “Blockchain Freezing Exposed: Examining the Impact of Fund Freezing Ability in Blockchain,” may be found.