16 Major Blockchains Have the Ability to Freeze User Funds: Insights from Bybit's Report

A recent report from Bybit's Lazarus Security Lab reveals that 16 significant blockchains possess the ability to freeze user funds, while an additional 19 could acquire this ability with minor modifications. This shift raises questions about the decentralization promise of blockchain technology.

Key Takeaways

Bybit's Lazarus Security Lab found that 16 major blockchains can freeze user funds.
An additional 19 blockchains may enable freezing capabilities with simple code updates.
Notable blockchains with existing freezing capabilities include BNB and VeChain, which have already implemented this feature in response to hacks.
Other blockchains like Sui and Aptos can freeze funds through validator-managed configuration files.

Blockchain frozen, showcasing the results of a Bybit report

Bybit's Research on Freezing Capabilities in Blockchain

Bybit's Lazarus Security Lab conducted an extensive review of 166 blockchain networks using both AI analysis and manual assessments. The findings revealed that 16 of these leading networks already include mechanisms to freeze user funds. Certain blockchains can freeze accounts directly at the blockchain level, while others utilize validators or alternative methods to achieve this outcome. Moreover, it was noted that 19 more major blockchains could implement similar capabilities with minimal adjustments to their existing code.

Blockchains with freezing capabilities, and those that can add these capabilities quickly

Major Blockchains with Fund-Freezing Abilities

Some prominent blockchains that currently have built-in capabilities to freeze accounts include BNB, VeChain, Sui, and Aptos. Conversely, blockchains like Arbitrum, Cosmos, Axelar, Babylon, Celestia, and Kava can quickly enable fund-freezing features with relatively minor changes to their protocols.

Examples of Implemented Freezing Actions

Among the blockchains that utilize hardcoded freezing features, five notable networks—BNB, VeChain, CHILIZ, VIC, and XDC—have integrated this functionality directly into their security code. BNB, for instance, froze user addresses following a significant cross-chain bridge hack that resulted in a loss of $570 million in 2022. Similarly, VeChain responded to its own hack in 2019, freezing 469 hacker addresses after $6.6 million worth of VET tokens were stolen.

In addition, ten other blockchains, including Sui and Aptos, can freeze funds through configuration files that are managed by validators. This method necessitates a node restart to activate the blacklists. Notably, Sui froze $162 million in assets following the Cetus DEX hack in 2025.

These findings highlight a growing trend among blockchain networks to use centralized controls, raising concerns about their commitment to decentralization and user control.