The crypto community is divided over the idea of rolling back Ethereum’s blockchain after Bybit’s $1.4 billion hack. Some experts, like Arthur Hayes and Samson Mow, support the rollback.
They argue that Ethereum set a precedent in 2016 by rolling back the DAO hack. They believe a similar action should be taken now to prevent the stolen funds from being misused.
A blockchain rollback would reverse confirmed transactions and restore the system to an earlier state. This method can fix major hacks but is controversial. Blockchains are designed to make transactions final and unchangeable.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, believes that Ethereum abandoned its principle of immutability in 2016. He thinks another rollback should be considered. Samson Mow agrees, stating that reversing the hack could stop the stolen funds from funding illegal activities, such as North Korea’s nuclear program.
On the other hand, many experts oppose the rollback. Trader Borovik warns that reversing transactions would damage trust in Ethereum. Bitcoin advocate Jimmy Song also disagrees. He points out that the DAO hack allowed a rollback within 30 days, while the Bybit hack is already final, making a reversal impractical.
Ethereum supporter Adriano Feria offers a different perspective. He suggests that Bybit could have prevented the loss by using a Layer 2 solution with reversible transactions.
He believes that blockchain adoption will face challenges unless some form of reversibility is introduced. Without it, people may prefer traditional finance systems that allow transaction reversals.
