RIA·DeFi
Public dataset · reviewed 2026-08-02

Digital Asset Control Atlas

Who can freeze the asset? Who controls redemption? Who can upgrade the chain or order transactions? The Atlas makes the control layer explicit before an advisor evaluates yield or suitability.

47assets graded
13chains graded
10deep control profiles

Control grade is not a recommendation. It answers a narrower question: can a named party change, block, redeem, administer, or order this layer?

Method

Four control grades

Sovereign
No single issuer or administrator has an address-level freeze function at this layer.
Crypto-backed
On-chain governance or collateral mechanisms matter, but no conventional issuer blocklist defines the asset.
Hybrid control
On-chain mechanisms coexist with custodians, real-world assets, centralized ordering, or other compellable parties.
Issuer-controlled
A named organization or administrator controls issuance, transfers, reserves, redemption, or address restrictions.

Grades are conservative. The effective control of a position is the weakest combination of asset, protocol, chain, and custody. “Issuer-controlled” can be appropriate for a tokenized security; it describes the operating reality rather than condemning it.

Asset layer

Who can freeze or administer the asset?

AssetControl gradeControl finding
ETH
Deep profile
SovereignNo issuer. No party can freeze or seize it on-chain.
WETHSovereignWrapped ETH. Immutable contract, no admin key, no blocklist.
STETHSovereignStaked ETH via Lido. No blocklist, though the withdrawal path depends on Lido governance and validator behaviour.
WSTETHSovereignWrapped staked ETH. Same profile as STETH.
WBTC
Deep profile
Issuer-controlledBitcoin exposure, but WBTC is a custodial IOU — BitGo holds the underlying and can be compelled. Not sovereign despite tracking BTC.
CBBTCIssuer-controlledCoinbase-issued Bitcoin wrapper. Coinbase holds the underlying BTC and can freeze the token.
RSETHSovereignKelp restaked ETH. No issuer freeze, but its LayerZero bridge was forged on 2026-04-18 to mint ~116,500 unbacked tokens — the bridge, not the staking, was the security model that failed. Protocol rejected.
SOLSovereignSolana native asset. No issuer, no freeze — but chain-level liveness history differs materially from Ethereum.
RETHSovereignRocket Pool staked ETH. Permissionless validator set across 3,000+ independent operators — the most decentralised liquid staking option. Reward-bearing: your balance stays constant while its ETH value grows.
WEETHSovereignether.fi restaked ETH. No issuer freeze, but the stake is re-pledged to EigenLayer AVSs that can slash it — sovereign in custody, novel in risk. Protocol rejected; see registry.
WBETHIssuer-controlledBinance Staked ETH. An exchange IOU — Binance holds the underlying stake and controls the token. On-chain in form only.
STEAKUSDCIssuer-controlledSteakhouse-curated Morpho USDC vault share. The underlying is USDC — freezable by Circle — plus curator discretion on market selection. See the Morpho memo.
SYRUPUSDCIssuer-controlledMaple undercollateralised credit, wrapped. Yield is compensation for borrower default risk; Maple lenders took ~80% losses in the 2022 Orthogonal default. Rejected including via this wrapper.
SYRUPUSDTIssuer-controlledAs SYRUPUSDC — Maple credit exposure in wrapper form. Rejected.
LUSDSovereignLiquity. Immutable contracts, no governance, no admin key, no blocklist — the most censorship-resistant stablecoin that exists. But supply has contracted from a ~$1.5B peak to roughly $30M, so it is not usable at client size. Sovereignty and availability are separate questions, and this is the clearest case where they diverge.
MSOLSovereignMarinade staked SOL. Stake spread algorithmically across 400+ validators — the most anti-concentration delegation strategy on Solana.
JITOSOLSovereignJito staked SOL. Highest yield via MEV capture and deepest liquidity, but delegates preferentially to validators running the Jito client, which already holds >95% of Solana stake.
INFSovereignSanctum Infinity. A basket of Solana LSTs — you inherit the weakest constituent rather than choosing the strongest.
GHO
Deep profile
Crypto-backedAave-native stablecoin backed by on-chain collateral. Aave governance sets parameters, but there is no address freeze list.
SGHOCrypto-backedStaked GHO. Same backing as GHO, earning the Aave savings rate.
CRVUSDCrypto-backedCurve-native, overcollateralised by on-chain assets. Governance-managed, no blocklist.
DAIHybrid controlOriginally crypto-backed, now substantially backed by real-world assets and USDC held with custodians. Materially less censorship-resistant than it once was.
SDAIHybrid controlSavings DAI. Inherits DAI backing, including its real-world asset exposure.
USDSHybrid controlSky/Maker successor to DAI. Reserve mix includes real-world assets held by custodians who can be compelled.
SUSDSHybrid controlSavings USDS. Inherits the USDS reserve mix.
USDC
Deep profile
Issuer-controlledIssued by Circle, backed by bank deposits and T-bills. Circle can and does freeze addresses on request from law enforcement.
USDT
Deep profile
Issuer-controlledIssued by Tether. Has frozen addresses on request. Reserve composition is less transparently attested than USDC.
USDT0Issuer-controlledOmnichain USDT. Inherits Tether issuer control.
PYUSDIssuer-controlledPayPal-issued, administered by Paxos. Freezable.
USDGIssuer-controlledPaxos-issued Global Dollar. Freezable.
RLUSDIssuer-controlledRipple-issued. Freezable.
EURCIssuer-controlledCircle-issued euro stablecoin. Same freeze capability as USDC.
FRXUSDIssuer-controlledFrax USD. Reserve-backed with centralised components.
BUIDL
Deep profile
Issuer-controlledBlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund. Short-term Treasuries, redeems through BlackRock/Securitize. Freezable and permissioned.
USYCIssuer-controlledCircle-issued tokenised Treasury yield. Same issuer control as USDC, with fund-level redemption terms on top.
OUSGIssuer-controlledOndo Short-Term US Government Treasuries. Permissioned transfer, redeems through Ondo.
USTBIssuer-controlledSuperstate/Invesco short-duration Treasury fund. Registered transfer agent controls the holder list.
USCCIssuer-controlledBitwise cash-and-carry fund. Basis trade held at centralised venues, wrapped as a token.
STCUSDIssuer-controlledCap tokenised dollar yield product. Issuer-redeemed.
VBILLIssuer-controlledVanEck tokenised T-bill fund. Permissioned.
JAAAIssuer-controlledJanus Henderson AAA CLO exposure, tokenised. Credit risk plus issuer control — not a cash equivalent despite the rating.
JTRSYIssuer-controlledCentrifuge tokenised Treasury exposure.
MGLOBALIssuer-controlledTokenised global credit fund. Permissioned, issuer-redeemed.
XAUTIssuer-controlledTether Gold. A claim on vaulted bullion — Tether holds the metal and controls the token.
PAXGIssuer-controlledPaxos Gold. Allocated London bullion held by Paxos, who can freeze the token.
USDEHybrid controlEthena synthetic dollar. Backing is a perp short position held at centralised exchanges — venue risk, not issuer freeze risk, but seizable all the same.
SUSDEHybrid controlStaked USDe. Inherits the exchange venue exposure.
Settlement layer

Who orders transactions and changes the chain?

ChainVerdictControl gradeTransaction ordering
Ethereum
Deep profile
approvedSovereignNone — permissionless proposer set
Arbitrum One
Deep profile
approved with limitsHybrid controlCentralised — >99% of transactions through a single sequencer
Base
Deep profile
approved with limitsHybrid controlCentralised — operated by Coinbase, a single regulated US entity
Solana
Deep profile
approved with limitsCrypto-backedLeader schedule across the validator set — no single operator
TronrejectedIssuer-controlled27 elected Super Representatives (dPoS), rotating every 3 seconds
Hyperliquid / HyperEVMrejectedIssuer-controlledPermissioned validator set — 21 validators as of March 2026 (16 at launch)
Avalancheunder reviewCrypto-backedPermissionless validator set, subnet architecture
Suiunder reviewCrypto-backedPermissionless validator set
Stellarunder reviewCrypto-backedFederated Byzantine Agreement — quorum slices, not stake-weighted
CronosrejectedIssuer-controlledSmall validator set closely associated with Crypto.com
MantlerejectedIssuer-controlledCentralised, as at every major L2.
opBNBrejectedIssuer-controlledCentralised, Binance-operated
BNB Smart ChainrejectedIssuer-controlledSmall permissioned-in-practice validator set aligned with Binance