Aptos, BNB Chain and 14 Blockchains Can Freeze User Funds Bybit researchers found that 16 major chains include mechanisms that allow accounts to be frozen, raising new questions about decentralization and protocol-level control.
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Posted November 13, 2025 at 8:47 am EST.
Blockchain researchers at Bybit’s ‘Lazarus Security Lab’ have found that 16 blockchains have the ability to freeze user funds.
Five chains, including BNB Chain and VeChain, were hardcoded with freezing capabilities at the protocol level.
Prominent layer 1 blockchains Aptos, EOS and Sui were among the 10 networks with a config-based freezing capability, meaning validators or foundations can restrict accounts.
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Bybit’s research also suggested that an additional 19 blockchains, including Arbitrum, Cosmos, Axelar, Babylon, Celestia, and Kava, could easily implement these controls if desired.
“The presence of these mechanisms fundamentally challenges the foundational principles of a decentralized ecosystem and necessitates further discourse within the blockchain community, but it has prevented hackers from stealing funds,” noted the researchers.
