User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 570 (I can't think of a witty title at 11 pm)/@comment-4620155-20140226095721/@comment-5398287-20140227071426

Actually, having looked over the chapter, it seems like (as Mohrpheus so elegantly put it) Sode no Shirayuki on steroids: it freezes solid whatever the blade comes into contact with. I'm basing this on what happened when Byakuya grabbed Rukia's sword: his hand started getting encased in ice.