Binance Launches Withdraw Protection Against Coercion

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, launched a new security feature called Withdraw Protection on May 4, 2026, enabling users to lock all on-chain withdrawals from their accounts for periods of one to seven days. The tool targets rising incidents of physical coercion, known in the industry as "wrench attacks," where criminals use threats, kidnappings or violence to force victims to transfer funds.

The feature allows users to activate a lockdown through account security settings on the Binance app or web platform. During the selected period, which defaults to 48 hours but can be adjusted, no withdrawals are possible, even by the account owner. Trading, deposits and other account functions remain unaffected. A strict mode prevents early unlocking entirely, while an optional early unlock requires verification via a security key, authenticator app and potentially email or SMS. Binance states the lock cannot be overridden by the exchange, though it does not block law enforcement actions.

The rollout addresses a growing threat documented by blockchain security firm CertiK, which reported a 75 percent increase in verified physical coercion cases against crypto holders...