Bybit Ready To Do Anything To Recover The Stolen Funds...

The recent hack of $1.4 billion at Bybit, attributed to the Lazarus group, has reignited the debate on governance and security of the Ethereum blockchain. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, discusses the possibility of a rollback to recover the stolen funds, a controversial measure reminiscent of the hard fork in 2016 after the hack of The DAO.

Is Bybit heading towards a rollback of Ethereum?

The CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, recently addressed the issue of a rollback of the Ethereum blockchain following the hack perpetrated by the Lazarus group on February 21, 2025. This hack led to the theft of 489,395 ETH, which is about $1.4 billion, distributed across 54 wallets. During a session on X on February 22, Zhou discussed various measures to recover the stolen funds, including the possibility of a rollback of the Ethereum blockchain. When asked about his support for such an initiative, Zhou responded:

I am not sure this is a decision that falls to one person. According to the spirit of the blockchain, maybe this should be subject to a voting process to see what the community wants, but I am not certain.

A new scandal on the horizon?

A rollback of Ethereum is a forced reversal of the blockchain to a previous state to cancel transactions, especially after a hack. This requires community consensus and would call into question the immutability of the blockchain, a fundamental principle of decentralization. Moreover, it could divide the community, leading to a loss of confidence and a risk of a hard fork like in 2016, after the hack of The DAO. For Bybit, this would allow for the recovery of the stolen funds, but at the cost of a huge controversy.

This week alone, Bybit has faced a series of major events. Between the hack resulting in the loss of $1.4 billion, the conviction of an employee for embezzling $5.7 million, and CEO Ben Zhou’s refusal to list Pi Network, which he considers a scam. Is the crypto exchange ready for a new scandal?

This situation therefore rekindles the debate on decentralized governance and the measures to take in case of massive thefts in the crypto ecosystem. The possibility of a rollback of the blockchain raises ethical and technical questions, highlighting the challenges faced by decentralized communities.