The Ethereum community faces a tough debate. After the Bybit hack on Feb. 21, calls to roll back the network are growing. The hack drained $1.5 billion in ETH, leaving many seeking a way to recover lost funds. However, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko warns that rolling back the chain is not an option.
Beiko explains that blockchain rollbacks are rare and complex. In Bitcoin’s early days, a major bug led to the creation of 184 billion BTC. Satoshi Nakamoto released a patch, and the community quickly adopted a new chain version. Back then, Bitcoin was low-difficulty and limited in users. The rollback was simple and had minimal impact.
Ethereum has also experienced a rollback before. In 2016, TheDAO was hacked. The funds, totaling 15% of all ETH, were locked for a month due to the app’s design. This gave developers time to create a fix. The solution involved an “irregular state change,” rewriting Ethereum’s history to return the funds.
The incident and Ether’s network split
However, this led to a split. Some users rejected the change and created ETF Classic. The Bybit hack is different. The stolen ETH moved instantly. The attack involved a compromised multisig wallet, not a flaw in ETF itself.
Ethereum’s deep integration with DeFi and other chains makes a rollback unrealistic. Stolen assets can be swapped, staked, and bridged to different networks. Even if a rollback were attempted, it would disrupt countless transactions outside Ethereum.
They have rejected the idea of a rollback before. In 2018, a proposal to recover frozen funds from a Parity wallet hack faced strong opposition. The ETF community has since maintained a stance against such interventions.
Ethereum developer Tim Beiko warns against rollback
Despite frustration over the Bybit hack, rolling back ETF would create more problems than solutions. The network’s complexity and interconnected nature make it impossible. Beiko’s warning is clear: Ethereum cannot undo the past. The focus must shift to security improvements and preventing future attacks.
