VeChain refutes the controversy over the "funds freezing feature"... "It is not hard-coded, just a community consensus"

VeChain ( strongly refutes the recent controversy regarding the “hidden freeze function”. In response to the allegations made by Binance ) Bybit ('s Lazarus Security Labs in their report claiming that the VeChain Blockchain is equipped with a fund freezing function, VeChain dismissed the claims as “lacking factual basis and potentially damaging to reputation.”

VeChain emphasized that it had only implemented the blacklist measure once in 2019, and this was a one-time response plan approved by community voting. At that time, a VeChain wallet was attacked due to a hacker stealing the private key, and the community reached a consensus through voting, where the validating nodes intercepted transactions initiated by that wallet.

VeChain explains that this is a transparent and community-led governance method, rather than a “hard-coded” fund freezing function in the network's source code. It also points out that the technical differences between “intercepting ) blocking (” and “freezing ) freezing (” should not be confused, criticizing Binance for failing to distinguish between the two.

VeChain has also submitted audit results from independent security organizations such as NCC Group, Coinspect, and Hacken. These audits indicate that while the VeChain Thor network allows validating nodes to reject specific transactions after community consensus, its architecture does not enable the confiscation or freezing of funds. The blockchain design itself tends to favor decentralized decision-making rather than centralized control.

The controversial report titled “Blockchain Freezing Function Exposed: An Analysis of Blockchain Asset Controllability” has been released. The report claims that through AI static analysis and manual review, 16 out of 166 blockchain networks were found to have hard-coded freezing functions, including the BNB chain supported by Binance, Sui, Aptos, XDC network, among others, in addition to vechain.

The report also categorizes freezing methods into three types—hard-coded in the source code, configuration-based, and on-chain smart contracts—and points out that while these features may help prevent security threats, they may ultimately undermine the unique decentralization and censorship-resistance characteristics of Blockchain.

In the context of recent consecutive security incidents, how project parties can coordinate to uphold decentralized principles while preparing crisis response measures is becoming a core governance issue.