The crypto industry often repeats "code is law," but Arbitrum Security Council member Griff Green challenges that. In an interview published April 23, 2026, Green argued blockchains depend on community agreement, not just code.
This argument gains weight after the Council froze roughly $71 million in stolen funds from a KelpDAO exploit on April 21. The Council used its 7-of-12 multisig authority to transfer 30,766 ETH from the attacker's wallet to a frozen account-executed by 12 people, not a court order.
The Arbitrum Security Council, elected by the DAO, has limited control over user funds. Its multisig structure requires a supermajority, and the system trusts at least 4 of 12 members to remain honest at any time.
Green's core point: every blockchain rests on social consensus. Nodes and validators choose to follow specific rules. Change the consensus of the people, and the chain changes too.
For investors, this clarifies that Arbitrum One is not permissionless in the absolute sense. It has governance mechanisms with defined powers, including freezing specific funds under specific circumstances. The 7-of-12 threshold protects against abuse, but it remains a human-operated system with trust assumptions.