What is an emergency pause?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
An emergency pause halts a contract mid-attack to stop the bleeding, and it has genuinely cut off drains in progress. It is also, in the same breath, the power to freeze users' assets, so who can invoke it and under what conditions is worth knowing before you deposit.
Key points
- Halts operation mid-attack to limit the damage
- It is equally the power to freeze users' assets
- Who can trigger it, and how it is lifted, is the question
- While paused, legitimate withdrawals stop too
Definition
A mechanism by which a privileged party can temporarily halt a contract's main functions, built in to limit damage once an attack is detected.
An exploit often drains funds in stages over minutes or hours. With a pause available, deposits, withdrawals and swaps can be stopped the moment it is noticed, preserving what remains. There are several documented cases where a pause cut a drain short.
But a pause stops legitimate use as well. If withdrawals halt during a sharp market move, users lose the chance to close out. That asymmetry is why operators are criticised both for pausing too late and for pausing too early.
Operationally, the key question is who can invoke it. A single key that can halt everything reacts fastest, and also means that holder can freeze your assets. Many designs therefore combine multisig and role separation so that pausing is quick while unpausing is deliberate.
Watch out for
- · A pause can stop an attack, and is equally the power to freeze users' funds
- · You cannot withdraw while paused, so market losses may be unavoidable
- · Where one key can pause, the theft of that key means a freeze