The proposed rollback of the Flow blockchain, aimed at addressing a $3.9 million exploit, has prompted deBridge founder Alex Smirnov to call for an immediate halt to transaction processing by validators. The exploit occurred on December 27, when an attacker exploited a vulnerability in Flow’s execution layer, allowing unauthorized token minting and fund siphoning through various cross-chain bridges.
Despite the call from Smirnov, validators have been unable to respond, with current blockchain data indicating the Flow network is stalled at block height 137,385,824 since 11:24 PM UTC on Saturday. The Flow Foundation had initially anticipated a restart within four to six hours, but the situation remains unresolved as the rollback plan has raised significant concerns regarding its impact on user balances and network confidence.
Following backlash, the Flow Foundation announced on October 29 that it would implement a “revised remediation plan” that would avoid a rollback while preserving legitimate user activity. Dapper Labs, the blockchain's creator, endorsed this new approach, emphasizing its commitment to restoring network operations without disrupting confirmed transactions. The controversy surrounding the rollback has led to a 42% decline in the value of the FLOW token since the exploit.