Ethereum Core Developer: 'Ethereum Rollback is Impossible'

Amid growing demands for rolling back the Ethereum (ETH) network to its pre-hack state, an Ethereum core developer has expressed opposition to this idea.

On the 22nd (local time), Tim Beiko, an Ethereum core developer, stated via X that 'this is virtually impossible' and explained that 'there are many differences between the current situation and THE DAO incident where Ethereum previously executed a rollback.'

He first noted that the Bybit hack did not violate any rules that would warrant protocol modification. Beiko stated, 'This incident is not an issue with the Ethereum protocol itself' and added that 'from the Ethereum protocol's perspective, these transactions cannot be distinguished from other legitimate network transactions.'

He also pointed out that the hacker immediately withdrew the funds after the hack. He explained, 'In THE DAO incident, the hacked funds were locked, allowing time to fix the bug and for the community to respond,' adding that 'in this case, the hacker immediately gained access and transferred funds on-chain.'

Furthermore, he emphasized that a rollback would have fatal consequences for Ethereum. Beiko argued, 'An Ethereum rollback would cause ripple effects of unmanageable proportions' and 'particularly, a complete rollback would lead to even worse outcomes.'

This means that a complete Ethereum rollback could cancel legitimate transactions as well. This could completely disrupt the flow of funds for exchanges, institutional investors, and individual investors.

The Vice President of Yuga Labs' blockchain division shared similar views. Quit stated via X that 'while Ethereum can be rolled back,' 'the impact of a rollback would be greater than the $1.5 billion lost in the hack.' He added, 'The accounting processes of all major companies would collapse' and 'numerous side effects are anticipated.'