Major DeFi protocols have stepped in for a joint rescue after rsETH collateral was shaken following a $293 million (approximately 434.9 billion KRW) exploit on the Kelp restaking platform. As concerns grow that the liquidity shock could spread to the entire lending market, an ecosystem-wide recovery package led by AAVE is rapidly taking shape.
Abe referred to this solidarity movement as the 'DeFi United' relief effort and announced that more than 43,500 Ethereum (ETH) has been pledged as recovery funds to date. This amounts to approximately $101 million, or about 149.8 billion KRW (based on an exchange rate of 1 dollar = 1,483.60 KRW), with participants including Lido DAO and the Golem Foundation.
43,500 ETH pledged… Mantle, EtherFi, LidoDAO, and others participate
In a statement on Thursday (local time), Abe emphasized, “Ecosystem cooperation is paramount at moments like this, and our priority is to secure the strongest possible outcome for users.” He added, “A large number of strong willingness to participate in the restoration of rsETH collateral has already been established.”
The largest pledges to date have come from Mantle and EtherFi. Mantle submitted a proposal to lend up to 30,000 ETH to the Aave DAO on the condition of receiving 'return (interest),' and the EtherFi Foundation announced that it would contribute 5,000 ETH. The Golem Foundation and Golem Factory jointly offered 1,000 ETH, and Lido DAO also stated that it would provide a one-time support of up to 2,500 stETH (Lido staking Ethereum) on the condition that other participants cover the deficit by contributing the entire recovery funds.
Bridge hacking spreads to Aave v3, '195M' bad debt
The incident began on April 18 when an attacker stole 116,500 'Kelp DAO Restaked ETH' tokens through Kelp DAO's LayerZero-based bridge. The attacker used these as collateral on Aave v3 to borrow Wrapped Ethereum (WETH), resulting in an estimated $195 million (approximately 289.3 billion KRW) in 'bad debt' for Aave.
The common view in the industry is that, given the DeFi structure where collateral tokens and lending markets are intertwined like a network, losses in a specific protocol can easily spread to other lending and liquidity pools. Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov also revealed that he has personally pledged 5,000 ETH and stated that he is in the process of 'formalizing' additional pledges with partners.
Suspension of rsETH deposits and fund freezes implemented concurrently… Laundered volume is also a variable
Abe announced that it has temporarily suspended rsETH reserves on Ethereum, Arbitrum (ARB), Base, Mantle, and Linea to prevent further damage and increase the likelihood of recovery. Abe explained, “This measure is aimed at recovering additional funds while the recovery plan is underway, and we will continue to update the community on the next steps.”
While some funds have already entered freezing procedures, uncertainty regarding their recovery remains. On Monday, a few days after the exploit, the Arbitrum Security Committee urgently froze 30,766 ETH in wallets linked to the kelp attack, but blockchain analysts believe the attacker has already 'laundered' 75,700 tokens. Key points to watch in the market going forward include how much the 'DeFi United' recovery package will mitigate the cascading shock to the DeFi lending market and how quickly confidence in rsETH collateral will actually recover.
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View full Alpha Report →💡 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the reason for the 'bad debt' incurred by Aave in this case?
Q. How does 'DeFi United' help users?
Q. Why does uncertainty remain despite the suspension of rsETH deposits and the freezing of funds?
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