Pause Transfers - Base Documentation

Pause the TRANSFER feature during an incident without stopping issuance or cancellation. B20 grants pause and unpause through separate roles so you can separate emergency response from recovery authority.

Demo

New to B20? See the B20 Token Standard for the concepts and a full launch walkthrough. These samples target base-std@v1.0.0, viem@2.55.11, and Base Foundry v1.1.1.

Pause and resume stock transfers

import { type Address } from "viem";
import { publicClient } from "../../shared/clients.js";
import { b20Abi } from "../abi.js";
import { sendContract } from "../write.js";

export async function setStockTransfersPaused(token: Address, paused: boolean) {
  await sendContract({ address: token, abi: b20Abi, functionName: paused ? "pause" : "unpause", args: [[0]] });
  const current = await publicClient.readContract({ address: token, abi: b20Abi, functionName: "isPaused", args: [0] });
  if (current !== paused) throw new Error("Unexpected transfer pause state");
}

base-cast send "$TOKEN_ADDRESS" "pause(uint8[])" "[0]" \
  --rpc-url "$RPC_URL" --private-key "$PRIVATE_KEY"
base-cast call "$TOKEN_ADDRESS" "isPaused(uint8)(bool)" 0 --rpc-url "$RPC_URL"
base-cast send "$TOKEN_ADDRESS" "unpause(uint8[])" "[0]" \
  --rpc-url "$RPC_URL" --private-key "$PRIVATE_KEY"

See the complete verified B20 examples for imports, client construction, and runnable projects.

Transfer pause state changes without pausing mint or burn.

Pause and unpause use separate roles. Grant recovery authority more narrowly than emergency pause authority.

See also

Restrict eligible holders · Cancel blocked shares
Pause in the B20 standard

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