Kelp DAO loses almost $293 million in rsETH bridge exploit
Kelp DAO just suffered the biggest DeFi hack of 2026, losing almost $293 million after the bridge used in the rsETH ecosystem was exploited.
The attack siphoned rsETH, a token issued by Kelp DAO representing restaked Ether, after exploiting the bridge and has everyone in the crypto world talking about how secure these systems really are.
Aave freezes markets, token down 20%
To stop things from getting worse, Kelp DAO quickly paused rsETH contracts across mainnet and several L2s. But the damage spread fast.
At least nine other platforms were affected, and Aave (a major lending protocol) had to freeze related markets and its token dropped 20%.
Security firm Cyvers pointed out that blacklisting the hacker's address right away blocked a second attempt and the protocol was just three minutes away from losing an additional $100 million, highlighting just how crucial rapid responses are when everything is so connected.