Freeze a wallet

How to block all outgoing transactions from a DFNS wallet using policies and tags, including temporary freezes and granular allowlists.

You can freeze a wallet, blocking all outgoing transactions, by combining a policy with wallet tags. This allows you to immediately block transactions in case of a security incident, suspected compromise, or compliance hold, and unblock the wallet when the situation is resolved.

Only outgoing transactions can be blocked. Incoming transactions are on-chain and cannot be prevented by DFNS.

Policies only apply to organization-managed wallets. Delegated wallets bypass the policy engine entirely. Those wallets should be frozen by other means, such as by revoking credentials or permissions in the external system that manages them.

How it works

1. Create a policy that blocks all transactions from wallets tagged frozen
2. To freeze a wallet, add the frozen tag to it
3. To unfreeze, remove the tag

The policy stays in place permanently. You control which wallets are frozen by managing tags, not by editing policies.

Set up the freeze policy

Create a policy with the AlwaysTrigger rule and Block action, filtered to the frozen tag. This policy only needs to be created once. Any wallet tagged frozen will have all outgoing transactions blocked.

From the dashboard

1. Go to Policies

   Navigate to Policies and click Create Policy.

2. Name the policy

   Enter a name like Freeze Tagged Wallets and click Continue.

3. Select the activity

   Select Wallet usage (transfer, transaction, signature) and click Continue.

4. Add a wallet tag filter

   Under Any Tags, click Add Tags and add the frozen tag. Click Continue.

5. Select the rule

   Select Always trigger.

6. Select the action

   Select Block.

7. Save the policy

   Review the summary and click Save.

With APIs

TypeScript

const policy = await dfns.policies.createPolicy({
  body: {
    name: 'Freeze Tagged Wallets',
    activityKind: 'Wallets:Sign',
    rule: {
      kind: 'AlwaysTrigger',
      configuration: {},
    },
    action: {
      kind: 'Block',
    },
    filters: {
      walletTags: {
        hasAny: ['frozen'],
      },
    },
    status: 'Active',
  },
})

policy = dfns.policies.create_policy(
    body={
        "name": "Freeze Tagged Wallets",
        "activityKind": "Wallets:Sign",
        "rule": {
            "kind": "AlwaysTrigger",
            "configuration": {},
        },
        "action": {
            "kind": "Block",
        },
        "filters": {
            "walletTags": {
                "hasAny": ["frozen"],
            },
        },
        "status": "Active",
    }
)

Freeze a wallet

Add the frozen tag to the wallet you want to freeze.

From the dashboard

1. Open the wallet

   Go to Wallets and click the wallet you want to freeze.

2. Edit the wallet

   Click Edit to open the wallet settings.

3. Add the frozen tag

   In the Tags field, type frozen and click Add. Then click Update to save.

   

With APIs

TypeScript

await dfns.wallets.tagWallet({
  walletId: 'wa-xxx-xxx',
  body: { tags: ['frozen'] },
})

dfns.wallets.tag_wallet(
    wallet_id="wa-xxx-xxx",
    body={"tags": ["frozen"]},
)

All outgoing transactions from this wallet will now be blocked.

Unfreeze a wallet

Remove the frozen tag to allow the wallet to transact again.

From the dashboard

1. Open the wallet

   Go to Wallets and click the frozen wallet.

2. Edit the wallet

   Click Edit to open the wallet settings.

3. Remove the frozen tag

   Click the x next to the frozen tag to remove it. Then click Update to save.

With APIs

TypeScript

await dfns.wallets.untagWallet({
  walletId: 'wa-xxx-xxx',
  body: { tags: ['frozen'] },
})

dfns.wallets.untag_wallet(
    wallet_id="wa-xxx-xxx",
    body={"tags": ["frozen"]},
)

The wallet can transact again immediately.