Andre Cronje: DeFi is no longer decentralized; the industry is divided on security approaches surrounding the "circuit breaker mechanism."

According to Odaily Odaily, Andre Cronje stated that most current decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols no longer meet the "strict definition of DeFi" but are closer to team-operated commercial systems, sparking industry disagreement over whether to introduce "circuit breakers" to address attack risks. In an interview, Andre Cronje pointed out that while early DeFi was centered on immutable smart contracts, many protocols today rely on upgradeable contracts, multi-signature permissions, off-chain infrastructure, and manual maintenance processes. Essentially, it has transformed from an "immutable public good" into an "operable, profitable business." He stated that against the backdrop of recent security incidents, including DeFi attacks worth approximately $280 million and $293 million, industry risks have expanded from simple smart contract vulnerabilities to "Web2-style risks" such as infrastructure, access control, and social engineering attacks. In terms of risk management, Flying Tulip, where Andre Cronje works, recently introduced a circuit breaker mechanism to delay or queue withdrawals when there is abnormal capital outflow, providing an emergency response window of about 6 hours to prevent systemic runs and further losses. However, this mechanism has also sparked controversy. Michael Egorov argues that circuit breakers could introduce new centralized attack surfaces, and if controlled by signers or administrators, they could become new sources of security vulnerabilities or freeze risks. He emphasizes that DeFi design should minimize human intervention, rather than increasing the number of manually controlled nodes. Industry analysts point out that this debate essentially reflects DeFi's shift from the ideal "code is law" model to a more realistic architecture of "hybrid governance + operational control," and that security boundaries are being redefined. (Cointelegraph)