GoPlus Security challenges THORChain’s decentralization claims over DPRK-linked funds

GoPlus Security is making a pointed argument: if your protocol can block transactions but chooses not to, calling yourself “decentralized like Bitcoin” is a stretch. The blockchain security firm publicly challenged THORChain’s decentralization narrative on September 26, pointing out that the cross-chain swap protocol’s threshold signature scheme (TSS) vaults give active validators shared control over outbound transfers. That’s a meaningful structural difference from Bitcoin or Ethereum, where users hold their own private keys and no validator committee can collectively freeze or halt fund movements. The Bitget hack fallout The critique didn’t arrive in a vacuum. It landed one day after the Bitget exchange hack, which resulted in losses of roughly $387.5 million. Stolen assets quickly found their way through THORChain’s infrastructure, and GoPlus identified what it called “highly likely DPRK-linked” activity in the flow. The numbers GoPlus flagged are specific: approximately 101.5 BTC, valued at about $8.5 million, and around 27.63 million XRP worth approximately $43 million were processed through THORChain during the incident. The decentralization debate THORChain operates as a cro...