Over the last 24 hours, Ethereum [ETH] witnessed a significant shift in the market dynamics with a notable accumulation of 140,000 ETH by whales amidst growing concerns regarding security breaches.
This uptick in accumulation coincided with a major incident involving Bybit, which fell victim to a $1.4 billion hack allegedly linked to the notorious Lazarus Group.
The security breach prompted a flurry of withdrawals as users hurried to leave the platform.
Initiatives by Bybit CEO Ben Zhou
Responding to the breach, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou unveiled plans to recover the pilfered assets, which include the launch of a bounty program, collaboration with law enforcement agencies, and discussions with the Ethereum Foundation to explore potential remedies.
Zhou also broached the controversial suggestion of executing a rollback on the Ethereum blockchain to undo the effects of the hack.
The CEO of Bybit took to X (formerly known as Twitter) where he stated,
“I’m uncertain if it should be an individual’s decision. Embracing the ethos of blockchain, perhaps it should involve a voting mechanism to ascertain the consensus of the communities, though I remain unsure.”
Arthur Hayes Enters the Fray
Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and a significant holder of ETH, recently reached out to Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, with a bold suggestion.
Hayes proposed deliberating on a network rollback to aid Bybit in recuperating from the crippling $1.4 billion ETH hack.
This proposition has triggered discussions within the cryptocurrency community.
If implemented, such a rollback would revert the blockchain to its state before the attack, potentially restoring the stolen funds but raising concerns about the integrity and immutability of the Ethereum network.
Hayes remarked,
“@VitalikButerin, will you champion rolling back the chain to assist @Bybit_Official.”
He further added,
“As a substantial holder of $ETH, I believe that $ETH ceased to be considered money post the DAO hack hardfork in 2016. If the community desires a similar action again, I would offer my support since back in 2016 we rejected immutability, so why not reconsider now?”
Historical Precedent of Rollback
The concept of rolling back the Ethereum blockchain is not unprecedented.
Following the infamous DAO hack in 2016 that siphoned around $60 million worth of ETH, the Ethereum community instigated a hard fork.
This resulted in the emergence of two distinct blockchains: Ethereum Classic [ETC], which upheld the original chain containing the compromised transactions, and the current proof-of-stake Ethereum network, which reversed the illicit transactions.
This historical event now serves as a reference point for the ongoing debate surrounding the possibility of a similar rollback in the wake of the recent Bybit breach.
Additional Insights
According to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, the Lazarus Group currently controls approximately 489,395 ETH, valued at around $1.3 billion, along with 15,000 Mantle Restaked ETH (cmETH) distributed across 54 wallets.
Linked to North Korea, this group has been actively transferring the stolen assets between wallets to conceal their origins and facilitate on-chain money laundering.
In response, Bybit has introduced a 10% bounty program amounting to up to $140 million to incentivize ethical hackers in helping retrieve the stolen funds. CEO Ben Zhou also expressed his appreciation to industry leaders and companies that have offered their support to the platform during this challenging period.