THORChain says it cannot block individual hack-linked addresses

Cross-chain decentralized exchange THORChain (RUNE) said it cannot individually block addresses tied to hacked funds and that shutting down the network would be an emergency security measure affecting the entire protocol, not a tool to stop specific funds from moving. In a post on X, THORChain said it did not blacklist the attacker’s address during the May exploit in which $10.7 million was stolen from a liquidity pool, so swaps were not blocked. THORChain added it is permissionless by design and does not censor transactions. On the issue, information security expert Michael Perklin said node operators would have to turn off their nodes to stop the movement of illicit funds, but doing so would also halt legitimate transactions. Perklin argued THORChain is a neutral tool like Bitcoin and Ethereum. THORChain was previously said to have rejected Bitget’s request to block addresses linked to hacked funds.