The recent Bybit hack has reignited discussions on whether Ethereum can "roll back" its blockchain to undo major exploits. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes even asked Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin if he would advocate for such an action. However, the Ethereum community was quick to reject the idea. Here’s why rollbacks are neither practical nor aligned with Ethereum’s core principles.

TheDAO Hard Fork: Ethereum’s Exception

In 2016, a major Ethereum app, TheDAO, was hacked due to a flaw in its smart contract, not the Ethereum network itself. Luckily, the stolen funds were locked for a month, giving the community time to act. Ethereum developers changed the blockchain’s history to recover the funds, leading to a split: Ethereum Classic continued the original chain.

• No Blockchain Bug – The hack happened due to a compromised wallet, not an Ethereum flaw.
• Instant Transactions – The stolen ETH was moved immediately, making intervention impossible.
• DeFi and Cross-Chain Complexity – Funds can be swapped, loaned, and moved across blockchains, making tracking nearly impossible.
• Off-Chain Impact – A rollback would undo real-world transactions, causing chaos.
• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin if he would advocate for such an action. However, the Ethereum community was quick to reject the idea. Here’s why rollbacks are neither practical nor aligned with Ethereum’s core principles.

While rollbacks are highly unlikely. Ethereum's rules aren't set in stone. If enough validators, developers, and users agreed, they could fork the network to reverse the hack. But this would require massive coordination and could lead to a community split, like with TheDAO.

Ethereum is designed to be decentralized, meaning no single person (not even Buterin) can unilaterally change the chain. In 2018, the community rejected a proposal to recover 500,000 ETH lost in a smart contract bug, reinforcing the idea that Ethereum is permanent—even when mistakes happen. Ethereum is too big, complex, and decentralized to roll back transactions like it did in the past. While it’s theoretically possible, the community is firmly against it. In today’s blockchain world, immutability is key—meaning lost or stolen funds stay lost.