Binance has introduced a new feature called "Withdraw Protection" to help protect users from physical coercion, also known as wrench attacks. This feature allows users to freeze their accounts for a period of one to seven days, preventing on-chain withdrawals. A stricter mode, known as "lockdown", disables early unlocking entirely. According to Binance's Chief Security Officer, Jimmy Su, the feature was developed in response to observed patterns of risky or coerced withdrawals.
Su noted that users traveling to high-risk regions can use this feature to restrict withdrawals, giving them more time to recover in case of an incident. The lock is an internal policy and cannot be overridden by the exchange, but it does not block law enforcement orders. The feature is part of a defense-in-depth approach, and Su advised users to manage their online footprint to protect themselves from the wrench-attack threat model.