Major rsETH Exploit at Kelp DAO Triggers DeFi Risk Response

According to a recent LinkedIn post from The Block, an attacker reportedly drained 116,500 rsETH from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered cross-chain bridge on Saturday, an amount described as worth about $292 million at current market prices. The post notes that Kelp’s emergency pauser multisig halted the protocol’s core contracts roughly 46 minutes after the exploit, reportedly preventing two additional attempts.

The post further indicates that Kelp is investigating the incident together with LayerZero and Unichain, while Aave has frozen rsETH markets on its V3 and V4 deployments. According to the description, Aave also suggested it will explore ways to address any deficit arising from bad debt, highlighting potential counterparty and smart-contract risk that may be relevant to DeFi participants and investors exposed to these ecosystems.