Canton Network’s Design Seen as Guard Against State-Sponsored Hacks, Says Digital Asset CEO

Crypto News

Financial institutions exploring blockchain infrastructure have grown increasingly concerned about state-sponsored hacking groups gaining access to their systems, according to Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz. He said those concerns were already circulating on Wall Street before Kelp DAO’s $290 million exploit in April 2026.

North Korean-linked groups have stolen over $6 billion in crypto since 2017, according to a report by TRM Labs. Their tactics have evolved from basic phishing attempts to multi-month infiltration campaigns designed to gain privileged access to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Rooz said traditional financial institutions view blocking such actors as a core fiduciary obligation, not an optional precaution.

Canton Network is a public, permissioned blockchain that launched in 2024. Because participants can implement guardrails on the subnets they create and the digital assets they issue, Rooz said North Korean-linked groups would find it difficult to operate within the network. He said the design reflects what large institutions require from any blockchain infrastructure they are willing to adopt.

Permissioned Design Sparks Decentralization Debate

Canton has drawn criticism from crypto purists since its launch. Critics argue it is not a true blockchain because participants can restrict user control over assets and activity. That debate widened after Arbitrum’s 12-member security council moved to freeze $71 million in funds that Kelp DAO attackers had left exposed on the Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 network.

The freeze triggered a wider argument about whether such actions are compatible with the permissionless principles of DeFi. Rooz said the council did not do “a bad thing” and pushed back on the framing that intervention is incompatible with decentralized networks. “One of the things that, to me, is pretty interesting about DeFi is that people want all the freedom in the world with none of the risks,” he said.

A coordinated relief effort called DeFi United, promoted by Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov, raised 132,650 ETH valued at approximately $303 million to help cover losses from the Kelp DAO hack. The effort crossed its funding threshold on April 27, 2026, making it one of the largest community-led recovery responses to a DeFi exploit on record.

Rooz pointed to the contrasting approaches of Tether and Circle as a live illustration of how stablecoin issuers are navigating the tension between open access and safety. After North Korean-linked actors moved funds through Circle’s infrastructure, Circle said it would not freeze stablecoins without a court order. Tether has worked with law enforcement to freeze funds allegedly linked to illicit activity.

Rooz said Canton can support open environments that mirror the access model of networks like Ethereum and Solana, but predicted that safety parameters will become standard for most consumer-facing applications. As losses from DeFi exploits continue to mount, he said the ability to restrict bad actors is shifting from a contested design choice to an expected baseline feature.

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