Alex Gluchowski, CEO of Matter Labs, said the decision to halt block production after Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Linea was hacked highlights the need for layer 2 companies to prioritize decentralization sooner rather than later.
Linea explained in an
Linea has since resumed block production, but the team’s decision to discontinue the zkEVM blockchain demonstrated the need for decentralization of the Ethereum layer, as pointed out by Gluchowski.
“Decentralizing sequencers is not an option. Any serious L2 stack has to compete first,” said Gluchowski, who is chasing one of Linea’s zkSync competitors.
We received a response from Declan Fox, Product Lead at Linea. Declan Fox agreed that decentralization is not an option, but emphasized that the network is on a “firm path” to decentralization in a much shorter time frame than many of its competitors.
“We are very pleased with our speed, considering that many rollup frameworks that are more than two years older than us are no longer ahead of us.”
Linea announced “The Linea Voyage: Surge” campaign in April, which aims to increase the total value locked in Linea to $3 billion. According to L2BEAT, there is currently just over $1.2 billion locked in blockchain.
However, one onlooker criticized the company for setting such a goal in light of recent hacking incidents.
Linea’s suspension was a “last resort” measure.
The Linea team stated that they had no choice but to discontinue the sequencer to prevent further fund outflow.
“This was a last resort to protect Linea users.”
Linea said it was notified of the hack by Hexagate, which helped track down stolen user funds, vulnerable smart contracts and exploiter addresses. Linea said Velocore could not be immediately reached because it was “midnight” in their time zone.
“Like other L2s, we are still in the ‘training wheels’ phase of existence, so we provide safeguards that can be used.”
Hackers exploited Linea-based DEX Velocore, moving 700 Ether worth more than $2.6 million from Linea through a third-party bridge.
The sequencer paused between blocks 5081800 and 5081801.
The company emphasized its intention to decentralize Linea’s network, including its sequencer, in the future, preventing the company from halting block production and censoring addresses.
Meanwhile, Velocor said it is working with relevant external networks to provide compensation to affected victims.
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Linea emphasized that its network remains safe and secure.
Consensys launched Linea in August 2023, bringing on board over 50 partners and bridging over $26 million in Ether at that time.
Almost all Ethereum layer-2 solutions, including Base, are centralized.
According to L2BEAT data, Coinbase is currently the only sequencer on Base. However, the company also claimed its intention to gradually decentralize Base over time.
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