Arbitrum freezes $71 million assets incident details: Crypto community questions the true meaning of decentralization

Golden Finance reports that on April 24th, following the KelpDAO attack incident, the Arbitrum Security Council took action to freeze over 30k ETH (approximately $71 million), successfully preventing some stolen funds from being transferred, but also sparking intense debate about the “boundaries of decentralization.”
This operation was executed by a security council composed of 12 members elected by token holders, which used special permissions to transfer funds from the attacker’s address to a “no-owner wallet,” effectively freezing the assets.
Supporters believe this move bought the industry critical time, preventing further laundering of the funds, and is a necessary mechanism for “security first.”
Critics pointed out that this case proves that even in so-called decentralized networks, key moments can still be intervened by a minority and alter on-chain results, challenging the core idea of “code is law,” and raising concerns about potential future abuse.
Arbitrum responded that this mechanism is designed to be transparent and community-authorized, essentially serving as “the last line of defense in extreme situations,” reflecting a balance between security and decentralization rather than a negation of the latter.