Linea commits to decentralization following cessation of block production in order to halt hacker
Linea, the layer-2 solution for Ethereum that aims to enhance scalability, is making a bold move towards greater decentralization. In an attempt to censor a hacker’s address, the Linea team manually stopped block production, causing a temporary halt in the entire network. This decision came after the hacker targeted Velocore, a decentralized exchange built on Linea, and made off with $7 million.
Acknowledging the seriousness of this action, Linea’s team assured the community that it was not a decision taken lightly. During the hour-long pause in block production, Linea assessed the situation and collaborated with the Velocore team to address the vulnerability.
However, this move raised concerns within the crypto community. Blocking the entire network, which holds over $1.2 billion in value, seemed like a drastic measure. Linea recognized that its reliance on centralized technical operations highlighted the need for a transition towards a fully decentralized and censorship-resistant network. Despite this incident, Linea remains committed to its core values of being permissionless and fostering a censorship-resistant environment.
Both Linea and Velocore have taken steps to mitigate the exploit. They have engaged in on-chain negotiations and collaborated with centralized exchanges to freeze the funds that were exploited. Velocore has also released a post-mortem report, detailing the affected pools and ongoing efforts to compensate affected users.
In a separate incident, Consensys’ Infura and MetaMask recently rectified their erroneous blockade of Venezuelan users, ensuring uninterrupted access to their services.
