Share this article
Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Linea has come under scrutiny from the cryptocurrency community after deciding to unilaterally suspend block production in response to a hack on Velocore, a decentralized exchange (DEX) operating on the network. This move has sparked discussion about the importance of decentralization and censorship resistance in the blockchain industry.
The Velocore hack resulted in the transfer of 700 ETH, worth more than $2.6 million, from the Linea network through an undisclosed third-party bridge. Linea said that after failing to immediately contact the DEX team, it suspended the sequencer to prevent additional funds from being connected. Blockchain also censored hackers’ addresses to mitigate the impact on users.
Linea defended his actions, saying the hackers began selling significant amounts of tokens for ETH, which could cause additional problems for users beyond the exploit depleting liquidity pools.
However, the cryptocurrency community criticized Linea’s decision, with some arguing that it goes against core principles of decentralization and censorship resistance.
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs and a Solana supporter, acknowledged the reasons for the move but questioned the long-term impact. Alex Gluchowski, CEO of Matter Labs, emphasized the importance of decentralization for all sequencers and called for prioritizing the integration of decentralization into platforms through layer 2 solutions.
In response to these criticisms, Linea reaffirmed its commitment to decentralize its network and sequencer to prevent similar incidents in the future. Blockchain said its goal is to create a “permissionless, censorship-resistant environment” where teams will no longer have the power to stop block production or censor addresses.
“As our network matures into a decentralized and censorship-resistant environment, the Linea team will no longer be able to stop block creation and address censorship. This is the main goal of our network,” said Linea.
Linea also pointed out that most competing networks still rely on centralized technology operations to protect ecosystem participants. The incident has reignited debate about the role of centralized entities in decentralized systems and the “blockchain trilemma” problems that protocols and networks face when it comes to balancing security, decentralization, and user scalability.
Share this article