Kelp DAO annonce la récupération complète de rsETH : vol de 293 millions de dollars par des hackers nord-coréens il y a 5 semaines

Ethereum flux staking protocol Kelp DAO completes a 5-week recovery plan, rsETH cross-chain liquidity, redemption, and reward mechanisms are fully operational again. This recovery was facilitated by joint funding from multiple protocols.
（Previous summary: 2026 largest DeFi incident: Kelp stolen $292 million, Aave nearly $200 million in bad debt, rsETH backing collapse）
（Background supplement: Aave’s joint proposal from five major protocols: Unfreeze 30,000 ETH on Arbitrum DAO, transfer to DeFi United to restore rsETH collateral）

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• DeFi United: joint funding from five major protocols
• Impact of Aave theft: TVL nearly halved
• Signs of liquidity in Aave

Ethereum flux staking protocol Kelp DAO completed a 5-week recovery operation last week, announcing that its re-staked Ethereum token rsETH is fully operational again. Behind this recovery is the chain reaction triggered by the theft of $293 million by North Korean Lazarus hacker group on April 18.

Kelp DAO announced on X last Monday that the last 20,373.7 rsETH had been officially transferred into the LayerZero smart contract, responsible for locking, minting, burning, and releasing rsETH during cross-chain transfers. This operation marked the official end of the rsETH recovery plan.

DeFi United: joint funding from five major protocols

This recovery was not achieved by Kelp DAO alone. Multiple crypto protocols contributed funds through the “DeFi United” initiative to jointly rebuild rsETH collateral. Kelp DAO stated that since the restart of rsETH withdrawals earlier this month, core functions such as minting, redemption, and reward distribution have been operating smoothly.

Reviewing the recovery timeline, the first 25,000 rsETH were transferred on May 13, when rsETH re-established cross-chain channels between the Ethereum mainnet and various Layer 2 networks. The following day, Kelp DAO officially re-enabled the withdrawal function.

Impact of Aave theft: TVL nearly halved

The chain reaction caused by Kelp DAO’s theft event was more severe than expected. Aave was one of the earliest protocols to feel the shockwave.

The hacker deposited the stolen 116,500 rsETH as collateral on the Aave lending platform, borrowed Wrapped Ether, resulting in $190 million in bad debt and triggering a wave of withdrawals. Aave’s total locked value plummeted from $26.4 billion to below $1.4 billion, losing its long-held position as the largest DeFi protocol.

Signs of liquidity in Aave

Data from DefiLlama shows that net outflows from Aave’s lending markets have significantly slowed over the past month. However, Aave’s TVL has not yet shown clear signs of recovery, remaining between $13.9 billion and $15.1 billion about a week after the incident.

This event also highlights the interconnectedness of DeFi protocols. Once the liquidity chain between flux staking, re-staking, and cross-chain bridges is broken, the impact can quickly spread to downstream lending markets. Although Kelp DAO’s recovery has concluded, rebuilding liquidity in the DeFi ecosystem still requires time.