Guardian/pause-keeper distinct from upgrader
dYdX v4 (dYdX Chain)'s assessment for RD-F-034 — scored yellow on the v1.7.0 rubric. The evidence below is the curator's reasoning for this score.
Evidence summary #
Cosmos reframe: no separate pause-keeper distinct from upgrader. October 2025 chain-halt was a consensus failsafe (software), not a human admin key. Recovery required same validator set (67%+ VP) that controls upgrades. Yellow: no role separation between pause-stop and upgrade authority — both are the validator set — but this is inherent to sovereign-chain model, distinct from a single admin holding both roles.
Sources #
- URLOctober 2025 dYdX Chain Incident ReviewOctober 2025 chain halt — validators coordinated both the halt and the recovery upgraderetrieved 2026-05-17
Methodology #
Determine whether a pauser/guardian role exists and is held by an address distinct from the upgrader address.
See the full factor methodology and distribution across all protocols →