Flow rolls back chain after $3.9 million hack…bridge industry objects 'no prior consultation'

Non-fungible token (NFT)-optimized layer-1 blockchain Flow (FLOW) plans to restart after rolling back the network following a hacking incident, but criticisms have arisen that there was no prior consultation with major ecosystem participants.

On the 29th (local time), The Block reported that the Flow network plans to revert transaction records to a checkpoint prior to the hack that occurred last Friday and then restart the network. It is reported that approximately $3.9 million worth of assets were stolen in the attack, and validators chose a chain rollback by consensus.

However, Alex Smirnov, co-founder of major bridge operator deBridge, said there was no prior notice or coordination in the decision-making process. He said on social media, "The Flow team claimed it was in a forced synchronization window with core ecosystem partners, but major bridge provider deBridge did not receive any contact," and "This can create a serious risk."

Smirnov later explained in response to media inquiries that he was contacted by Flow after his public criticism. However, he said the Flow team still leaned toward maintaining the rollback policy at that time. He said, "The core of the discussion was trying to understand what problem a rollback could solve when the attacker had already moved funds off-chain."