Flow decided against rolling back its blockchain after a $3.9 million exploit, opting instead for a recovery plan that preserves transaction history. The initial rollback proposal faced criticism for potentially undermining decentralization and creating operational risks. The revised plan involves targeting fraudulent assets through account restrictions and token destruction, but the recovery of stolen funds remains uncertain. The layer-1 network, Flow, scrapped plans to roll back its blockchain following a $3.9 million exploit, reversing course after pushback from ecosystem partners who warned that rewriting chain history would undermine decentralization and create operational risks.
Instead, the network released a statement on Dec. 29 saying it will restart from the last sealed block before transactions were halted on Dec. 27, preserving all legitimate transaction history, according to a recovery plan shared with partners. The revised approach avoids a chain reorganization and instead targets fraudulent assets through account restrictions and token destruction. The decision not to go through with the rollback plan was applauded by some industry observers. Blockchain analyst Matthew Jessup said Flow’s new recovery plan is sound and, unlike the original rollback one, has no decentralization implications.
However, it remains unclear whether the $3.9 million taken in the exploit can be recovered, as experts have cast doubt on this possibility. Recovering hacked funds largely depends on where they end up, Grant Blaisdell, co-founder of blockchain analytics firm Coinfirm and CEO and co-founder of Copernic Space told CoinDesk. Whether the funds landed on a centralized exchange, how quickly the incident was reported, and the exchange’s willingness to cooperate all play a role. Once funds are off-boarded, recovery becomes a complex legal process across multiple jurisdictions.
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