The Hack That Changed Ethereum Forever ♾️ In 2016, a single exploit reshaped the future of blockchain. A decentralized venture fund called *The DAO* had raised over $150 million in ETH, nearly 14% of the total supply at the time. It was one of the most ambitious experiments in decentralized governance. Then came the attack. A vulnerability in the smart contract allowed a hacker to repeatedly withdraw funds before balances updated, a classic reentrancy flaw. Over weeks, *3.6 million ETH* was drained, worth about $70 million at the time. The crisis split the Ethereum community. Vitalik Buterin and supporters pushed for a hard fork to recover funds and protect the network’s credibility. Decentralization purists opposed rewriting history. The hard fork moved forward. The result? The new chain became *Ethereum* The original chain continued as *Ethereum Classic* Blockchain governance entered a new era This event proved a critical truth: Code is powerful, but community consensus ultimately defines a network’s future. Today, The DAO hack remains one of the most important lessons in smart contract security, decentralization, and crisis management in Web3.