Wall Street's growing fear of North Korean hacking groups is reshaping the conversation around blockchain security, according to Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz.
North Korean-linked hackers have stolen over $6 billion in crypto since 2017, and recent high-profile DeFi exploits have institutions asking tough questions about fiduciary responsibility. Rooz told Decrypt that the team behind the Canton Network has fielded concerns from financial institutions about state-sponsored infiltration.
"They have to make sure that bad actors cannot engage with their systems," Rooz said. "That's what they're responsible for from their fiduciary duty as a traditional organization."
Unlike permissionless blockchains, Canton allows participants to implement guardrails for subnets and digital assets. Rooz argues this design makes it nearly impossible for North Korean hackers to execute their signature months-long infiltration campaigns.
Crypto purists have criticized Canton as not being a "true" blockchain due to its permissioned controls. But Rooz pushed back, pointing to the recent Arbitrum security council decision to freeze $71 million linked to the Kelp DAO exploit as a necessary safeguard.
"Nobody should say that that's a bad thing," Rooz said. "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."
Rooz acknowledged that Canton participants can create unrestricted environments similar to Ethereum or Solana, but he predicts safety parameters will become standard for consumer-focused applications. The tension between absolute decentralization and safety, Rooz suggested, will eventually tilt toward the ability to stop bad actors.