THORChain Rejects Bitget Request to Block Stolen Assets

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen formally requested that THORChain deny service to specific wallet addresses following the September 24 breach, arguing that decentralization should not serve as a shield for illicit funds. The exchange, which is currently working with firms like Mandiant and SlowMist to trace assets, insists that industry participants have a moral obligation to prevent the movement of stolen capital. The breach, which affected a backend system within Bitget’s wallet infrastructure, led to the unauthorized transfer of various assets, including XRP, ETH, and TRON-based tokens.

THORChain pushed back against the request, clarifying that its emergency halt mechanisms are intended solely to protect the protocol’s integrity during systemic failures, rather than to facilitate the freezing of individual user transactions. Supporters of the protocol argue that THORChain functions as neutral public infrastructure, similar to Bitcoin or Ethereum, and that node operators lack the capacity to selectively filter transactions without disrupting the entire network.

Security firm GoPlus challenged this comparison, pointing to THORChain’s use of threshold signature vaults as evidence that the network is not as decentralized as its peers. GoPlus argued that because validators collectively control these vaults and possess documented pause mechanisms—which were utilized during a $10.7 million exploit earlier this year—the protocol retains the technical capability to intervene. Despite this, THORChain maintains that node operators do not actively approve individual transfers, characterizing the process as an automated function where the only alternative is to shut down the infrastructure entirely, which would negatively impact legitimate users.