Despite growing calls to roll back Ethereum to its pre-Feb. 21 state after the Lazarus Group’s $1.5 billion hack on Bybit, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko warns against it. He says such a move would be complex and have significant consequences.
Beiko explained that the Bybit hack was different from TheDAO exploit in 2016, as the transaction appeared legitimate but contained malicious code to alter the smart contract. Unlike TheDAO, which had a built-in failsafe, there’s no clear way to reverse this case without broader effects.
Beiko noted that a rollback would be disruptive due to Ethereum’s evolved ecosystem, with decentralized finance (DeFi) and cross-chain bridges. He warned that a complete rollback could undo all settled transactions, including exchange sales and real-world asset redemptions, without addressing off-chain consequences.
Some in the crypto community, like Jan3 CEO Samson Mow, supported a rollback to return the stolen ETH, but Beiko emphasized the potential costs far exceeding $1.5 billion. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou suggested that any decision should be community-driven.