The recent piracy of $ 1.4 billion at Bybit, awarded to the Lazarus group, revived the debate on the governance and security of Ethereum blockchain. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, evokes the possibility of a rollback to recover the stolen funds, a controversial measure recalls the Hard Fork of 2016 after the hack of The Dao.
Bybit heads for an Ethereum rollback?
The CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, recently discussed the question of an Ethereum blockchain rollback following the hacking perpetrated by the Lazarus group on February 21, 2025. This hacking resulted in the flight of 489,395 ETH, or about 1.4 billion dollars, spread over 54 wallets. During a session on X on February 22, Zhou spoke of various measures to recover the backdrops, including the possibility of an Ethereum blockchain rollback. Asked about his support for such an initiative, Zhou replied ::
I am not sure that this is a single person's decision. According to the spirit of the blockchain, it may be the subject of a voting process to see what the community wants, but I am not sure.
A new scandal to come?
An Ethereum rollback is a forced reversion of blockchain to a previous state to cancel transactions, especially after hacking. This requires a community consensus and would question the immutability of blockchain, a fundamental principle of decentralization. In addition, it could divide the community, leading to a loss of confidence and a risk of Hard Fork as in 2016, after the hacking of The Dao. For Bybit, this would recover the stolen funds, but at the cost of a large controversy.
Already this week, Bybit was faced with a series of major events. Between the hacking leading to the loss of $ 1.4 billion, the conviction of an employee for dusk of $ 5.7 million, and the refusal of CEO Ben Zhou of List Pi Network, which he considers a scam. Would the crypto exchange be ready for a new scandal?
This case therefore relaunches the debate on decentralized governance and the measures to be taken in the event of massive flights in the crypto ecosystem. The possibility of turning back the blockchain raises ethical and technical questions, highlighting the challenges facing decentralized communities.
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