ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement, the decentralized security project Hats Finance announced on the X platform that Hats.finance will permanently shut down its custodial operations. The team believes that continuing to operate a centralized user interface (UI) and server is no longer sustainable, and there are currently no plans to adopt a new legal or operational framework to maintain this custodial architecture.
The current arrangements are as follows: The user front-end and back-end (UI and server) hosted by Hats.finance are expected to go offline on December 31, 2025, and most functions relying on this custodial architecture will be gradually phased out. The Hats protocol will remain deployed on-chain and managed by the DAO, with the core contracts intended to continue running as coded.
Currently, the user front-end already provides an IPFS-based version. As long as this version continues to serve, users may access it through public gateways. However, since payments to current fixed service providers (such as Pinata) will cease, continuous availability and performance cannot be guaranteed. Users can submit withdrawal requests through the custodial UI before December 17; after that, withdrawals must be completed by interacting directly with the contract.