Parity Technologies is not pushing for an immediate hard fork to recover millions in ether funds locked up after a vulnerability was triggered.
Days after a developer “accidentally” deleted a code library for the Parity wallet, Afri Schoedon, technical communications lead at the startup, said the issue may be addressed at a later date – possibly as part of the already planned ethereum upgrade Constantinople, set for 2018.
It’s a notable statement, in that up to $152 million in ether – some being the business and customer funds of some high-profile initial coin offering (ICO) issuers – is locked up where owners can’t access it. Yet, it points to the greater controversy over hard forks, with some arguing an emergency hard fork (as was executed last year after the collapse of The DAO) would be a company “bail-out.”
While those involved have made it clear a hard fork is needed to free up the funds, Schoedon told CoinDesk that by postponing until Constantinople, Parity has “plenty of time” to find a solution that would be “backed by major parts of the community.”
Echoing Schoedon’s comments, ethereum virtual machine (EVM) developer for the Ethereum Foundation Nick Johnson, speaking to his own personal opinions, said, “There’s absolutely no rush. Unlike the DAO, there’s no ticking clock, no funds in peril, they’re simply locked up. The community can take as long as it needs to decide what, if anything, it should do.”
The Parity team is crafting a proposal, though when this will be released is currently unclear. According to Schoedon, Parity will at “no point push for a bail-out,” aiming for an ethereum-wide solution which is well accepted by the community.
Schoedon continued:
“I’m expecting nobody really denies the … affected projects and [wants] users to regain access to their locked funds. However, if that is not the case and discussions stay very controversial, we are more than happy to provide a switch that allows users to choose if they want Constantinople with or without the discussed proposal.”
Sundial in sand image via Shutterstock
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