In a bid to curb the rising cases of crypto theft, blockchain researchers at Stanford University have proposed a new token standard for Ethereum that would support reversible transactions.
Reversible Ethereum Transactions
On Sunday, September 25th, Kaili Wang, a blockchain researcher at Stanford University, shared a proposal for Ethereum-based reversible tokens as a way to help curb crypto scams and cases of theft, which are currently at an all-time high.
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The proposal, put together by Stanford researchers Kaili Wang, Dan Boneh, and Qinchen Wang, outlines the creation of new token standards, ERC-20R as a reversible format of ERC-20, and ERC-721R for ERC-721.
Solving the Issues of Crypto Theft
According to Kaili Wang, major crypto hacks are undeniably thefts with strong evidence, and the introduction of reversible transactions would go a long way in alleviating the issue of projects and investors falling victim to hacks and scams. Wang wrote on Twitter:
2/ The major hacks we've seen are undeniably thefts with strong evidence. If there was a way to reverse those thefts under such circumstances, our ecosystem would be much safer.
— kaili.eth (@kaili_jenner) September 24, 2022
Our proposal allows reversals only if approved by a decentralized quorum of judges. The steps:
Wang notes that such transactions would only be approved by a decentralized quorum of judges, while reversible tokens would allow for “a short time window post-transaction for thefts to be contested and possibly restored.”
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Under the proposed solution, if an investor or project were to suffer a hack, they would be able submit a freeze request for a return to be made within one or two days. Furthermore, both parties involved would be required to submit evidence to assist the decentralized judges in coming to a fair decision.
On the Flipside
- The proposal admits that freezing non-fungible tokens would be much more complicated due to the fact that they can be split and run through anonymous crypto mixers or crypto exchanges.
Why You Should Care
The prototype tokens would not replace ERC-20 or ERC-721 tokens, and would not make Ethereum reversible on the whole, but would rather act as an opt-in standard for the blockchain.
Ethereum’s founder has outlined the potential of Layer-3. Read below:
Ethereum’s (ETH) Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Shares What Layer-3 Could Look Like
The SEC has claimed jurisdiction over Ethereum transactions. Read in:
SEC Implies That All Ethereum (ETH) Transactions Fall Under U.S. Jurisdiction
