In a remarkable development for the blockchain community, Consensys’ Linea Layer 2 blockchain has temporarily suspended halt production following a recent security compromise that led to the exploitation of millions of dollars worth of funds. The aim of this rapid approach was to prevent any potential exploitation of user assets and to preserve the integrity of the network.
According to to the TOBTC trading platform, despite intentions to resume production and decentralize its network in the near future, the incident highlights the crucial need to Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions like Linea to boost decentralization efforts.
Linea Blockchain steps in to save the day
On Sunday June 2, a hacker took advantage of vulnerabilities in the decentralized exchange Velocore, which operates on the Linea network. This act carried out using a third-party bridge allowed the hacker to siphon more than 700 Ethereum (ETH) valued at $2.6 million from the blockchain.
Linea noted that Hexagate was the first to discover the hack, identifying exploiter addresses, weak smart contracts and stolen funds. However, time zone variations prevented the blockchain from immediately contacting the Velocore team.
As a result, the blockchain platform temporarily stopped producing blocks, exposing the flaws in centralized control to prevent further damage. “As other means of handling this exploit have been shut down, our team has shut down the sequencer to prevent additional funds from leaking out,” the platform said.
Linea described stopping manufacturing of the blocks as a “last resort” action to protect its users from further harm. Specifically, the solution interrupted block production between blocks 5081800 and 5081801.
During the hiatus, blockchain allowed the Velocore team to contribute to the investigation of the vulnerability. In addition, they censored the addresses of hackers, which significantly reduced the damage to Linea’s consumer ecology. “Like other L2s, we are still in the ‘training wheels’ phase of existence, which gives us safeguards to use,” the company added.
Decentralizing your network, including the sequencer, is the main objective of Linea. As the network transforms into a decentralized and censorship-resistant ecosystem, the team will not be able to stop blocking production or censor addresses.
The decision was not taken lightly
The majority of L2 solutions, like Linea, continue to rely on centralized technical operations, which can be used to protect ecosystem members. This action was therefore not an easy choice to make, given that the core principle of Linea is a permissionless and censorship-resistant environment.
An important factor highlighted by the platform in its decision to shut down the sequencer was the acquisition of tokens by the hacker and their subsequent sale to ETH. Beyond the vulnerability that drained the liquidity pool, this exploit would have caused significant problems for users of the ecosystem.
So far, the team has emphasized its commitment to providing a more secure ecosystem for its users by developing broader threat monitoring and prevention mechanisms that were fully activated during the hack.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from Tradingview.com
