With crypto theft becoming a common occurrence, Stanford University researchers have come up with an ingenious solution

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Researchers from Stanford University have developed a prototype for 'reversible transactions' on Ethereum, claiming it could be a way to mitigate the effects of crypto theft.

Kaili Wang, a blockchain researcher at Stanford University, provided an overview of the Ethereum-based reversible token concept in a tweet on Sunday. She noted that the idea is still in its early stages and is intended to spark discussion and lead to even better solutions from the blockchain community.

Kaili Wang noted, "The major hacks we've seen are undeniably thefts with strong evidence. If there were a way to reverse those thefts under such circumstances, our ecosystem would be much safer. Our proposal only allows reversals if a decentralised quorum of judges approves."

Researchers on blockchain from Stanford University, including Kaili Wang, Dan Boneh, and Qinchen Wang, developed the concept. It is now just a 'proposal to inspire discussion and even better solutions from the blockchain community' rather than a fully developed concept. The proposal describes opt-in token standards called ERC-20R and ERC-721R, which are comparable to ERC-20 and ERC-721.

The prototype does not intend to make Ethereum reversible or replace ERC-20 tokens. The opt-in approach, in contrast, permits a brief post-transaction window 'for thefts to be contested and possibly restored.'