What Were the Long-Term Consequences of the DAO Hack for the Ethereum Network?

The DAO hack had profound consequences, leading to a contentious hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain. This fork created two separate chains: Ethereum (ETH), where the hack's transactions were effectively reversed, and Ethereum Classic (ETC), which preserved the original, unaltered ledger.

This event sparked intense debate about the immutability of blockchains and established a precedent for community intervention in the face of catastrophic exploits. It also led to a much greater focus on smart contract security, auditing, and the development of safer coding standards.