# rsETH Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "rsETH", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

Kelp DAO's $400 Million Bad Debt Was Covered, But at a $12 Billion Cost to Aave

On May 26th, Kelp DAO successfully transferred its final batch of rsETH, completing the 37-day process of fully backing rsETH 1:1 after a security incident. However, the resolution came at a significant cost to Aave. The protocol's TVL plummeted by over $12 billion in the following month. Furthermore, a separate legal battle over 30,766 frozen ETH continues in court, posing ongoing reputational risk. The recovery was enabled by an unprecedented, one-time coalition dubbed "DeFi United," involving major contributions from Aave's founder, treasury, Consensys, Mantle, and others. Despite this, the event triggered a major outflow of funds, with whales like Justin Sun moving capital to competitors like Spark. Aave's path to regaining its position relies heavily on the successful execution of its multi-pronged strategy. Its new V4 protocol, designed for open, heterogeneous asset markets, faces delays due to internal governance disputes. Meanwhile, the V3 version remains the core revenue generator, and the permissioned Horizon fork is targeting institutional RWA (Real-World Assets) growth—a segment less impacted by the rsETH incident but dependent on traditional finance adoption timelines. The key takeaway is that while the immediate bad debt was covered, Aave paid a steep price in lost trust and capital. Recovering market share depends on accelerating V4's rollout and advancing its institutional RWA offerings, both of which face external and internal hurdles. The "DeFi United" safety net is unlikely to be replicable for future crises.

marsbit05/26 11:09

Kelp DAO's $400 Million Bad Debt Was Covered, But at a $12 Billion Cost to Aave

marsbit05/26 11:09

Day 6 of the rsETH Incident: DeFi United Secures Approximately $100 Million in Intentional Commitments, but a $50 Million Gap Remains

On April 18, Kelp DAO’s rsETH LayerZero bridge was exploited, resulting in the unauthorized minting of 116.5k rsETH (approx. $292M). The attacker borrowed around $190M on Aave V3. The Arbitrum Security Council froze 30,766 ETH linked to the incident. DeFi United, a cross-protocol rescue initiative led by Awe, was formed to cover a total shortfall of 112.2k rsETH ($258M). As of April 24, several protocols have pledged around $100M in support, though most commitments are still under DAO voting or discussion. Key pledges include: - Golem: 1,000 ETH ($2.3M) - Aave founder Stani Kulechov: 5,000 ETH ($11.5M) - EtherFi: up to 5,000 ETH ($11.5M) - Lido: up to 2,500 stETH ($5.75M), contingent on full coverage - Mantle: proposed a $69M loan to Aave DAO under specific terms The remaining shortfall is estimated at $50M. Aave’s treasury and safety module (~$236M combined) can cover the worst-case bad debt scenario ($230M). Three potential loss distribution paths were outlined by DefiLlama’s 0xngmi: 1. Uniform 18.5% haircut for all rsETH holders: Aave bad debt ~$216M 2. Only protect Mainnet, abandon L2: bad debt up to $341M 3. Repay only pre-attack holders: technically difficult, ~$91M net loss KelpDAO has not yet announced a specific plan. The success of DeFi United depends heavily on KelpDAO’s final decision on loss allocation.

marsbit04/24 11:26

Day 6 of the rsETH Incident: DeFi United Secures Approximately $100 Million in Intentional Commitments, but a $50 Million Gap Remains

marsbit04/24 11:26

Aave Is Surrendering the Throne of DeFi Lending Due to Its Own Stupidity

Aave, a leading DeFi lending protocol, is facing a severe crisis and losing its dominant market position due to its poor handling of a recent security incident. The crisis began when Kelp DAO suffered a hack resulting in a loss of $292 million in rsETH. In the aftermath, approximately $17.2 billion in funds flowed out of Aave as user panic escalated. The article criticizes Aave's crisis management as "extremely foolish." Instead of promptly offering reassurance or committing to cover the potential bad debt—estimated between $123.7 million and $230.1 million, which Aave could have afforded—the protocol initially deflected blame, emphasizing that its code was not at fault. This delay and lack of a clear guarantee led to widespread user anxiety, triggering a bank run-like scenario where users withdrew funds or borrowed aggressively from other pools, causing liquidity shortages. Meanwhile, Aave’s competitor Spark—a fork of Aave’s own code—has benefited significantly. Having removed support for rsETH months earlier, Spark avoided any losses from the incident and has since seen its TVL grow by nearly $2 billion, attracting major deposits such as over $1.24 billion from Justin Sun. Spark has actively capitalized on the situation, publicly criticizing Aave’s security reputation. Although Aave’s founder Stani eventually announced a relief plan named "DeFi United" with several partners and a personal donation, the damage to user trust and capital outflows may be irreversible. The article concludes that Aave is losing its throne in DeFi lending to aggressive competitors like Spark, Morpho, and Jupiter Lend.

Odaily星球日报04/24 02:38

Aave Is Surrendering the Throne of DeFi Lending Due to Its Own Stupidity

Odaily星球日报04/24 02:38

After AAVE Was Hit, What Did Spark Do Right to Attract $1.3 Billion Against the Trend?

Amid a $15.1 billion liquidity crisis at Aave triggered by a cross-chain vulnerability involving rsETH, which led to $200 million in bad debt, Spark Protocol emerged as a safe haven, attracting $1.3 billion in inflows. Spark’s TVL surged to $4.74 billion, with ETH deposit rates spiking to 130% due to high demand and scarce liquidity. Spark’s resilience stemmed from its conservative governance and multi-layered risk framework. Unlike Aave, which aggressively listed rsETH to boost capital efficiency, Spark had proactively delisted the asset months earlier, avoiding exposure. The protocol employs strict rate-limited caps, higher interest rate buffers, and a modular isolation architecture to mitigate risks. These measures prevent over-concentration, ensure liquidity during stress, and attract arbitrage capital during high utilization. The shift from Aave to Spark signals a market preference for security over yield, underscoring the importance of disciplined risk management in DeFi.

marsbit04/22 11:51

After AAVE Was Hit, What Did Spark Do Right to Attract $1.3 Billion Against the Trend?

marsbit04/22 11:51

LayerZero Breaks Silence On $290 Million KelpDAO Crypto Exploit

LayerZero has addressed the $290 million exploit affecting KelpDAO's rsETH, asserting it was not a protocol failure but a result of KelpDAO's decision to use a single-DVN (Decentralized Verifier Network) configuration. The company claims the attack was isolated to this specific setup and confirms no contagion risk to other assets or applications. Preliminary analysis suggests the attack was executed by a sophisticated state actor, likely North Korea's Lazarus Group. The method involved poisoning RPC infrastructure used by the LayerZero Labs DVN, swapping binaries on compromised nodes, and using DDoS attacks to force traffic to the malicious infrastructure. However, LayerZero states its least-privilege principles prevented a direct compromise. The exploit was only possible due to KelpDAO's 1-of-1 verifier setup, which contradicts LayerZero's recommended multi-DVN redundancy model. A properly configured system with multiple independent DVNs would have prevented the attack. LayerZero has deprecated affected nodes, restored its DVN, and will no longer support 1/1 configurations. Aave has frozen rsETH and WETH reserves on its platforms as a precaution while confirming rsETH on Ethereum mainnet remains fully backed.

bitcoinist04/20 15:01

LayerZero Breaks Silence On $290 Million KelpDAO Crypto Exploit

bitcoinist04/20 15:01

On the Same Day Aave Introduced rsETH, Why Did Spark Choose to Exit?

On April 18, Kelp DAO's cross-chain bridge was exploited, resulting in the malicious minting of 116,500 unbacked rsETH. The attacker deposited these into Aave and borrowed WETH, creating a potential bad debt of approximately $195 million. Aave’s Guardian quickly froze the market, but the protocol’s insurance could only cover about 25% of the loss. In contrast, SparkLend, a lending protocol in the MakerDAO ecosystem, suffered no direct losses. This was not due to superior foresight but rather a preemptive governance decision. On January 29, Spark executed a governance action to discontinue new rsETH supply, citing low usage and high concentration from a single wallet. The same day, Aave expanded its rsETH market by enabling E-Mode with a 93% LTV to attract more deposits. Spark’s risk management framework is designed to remove assets with low usage or poor risk-adjusted returns, regardless of external security concerns. Aave’s decision was growth-oriented, aiming to boost WETH utilization and attract capital. Spark also employs additional safeguards: rate-limited supply and borrow caps that would have limited the scale of such an attack, and a robust oracle system using the median of three price feeds. These mechanisms systemically contain the maximum exposure to any single risk event, demonstrating a fundamentally different approach to risk than Aave’s growth-first model.

marsbit04/20 08:14

On the Same Day Aave Introduced rsETH, Why Did Spark Choose to Exit?

marsbit04/20 08:14

Kelp DAO Suffers $292 Million rsETH Exploit – Details

Kelp DAO has suffered a major cross-chain exploit resulting in the loss of approximately 116,500 rsETH, valued at nearly $292 million. The attack targeted a vulnerability in the protocol's cross-chain bridge mechanism, specifically through LayerZero’s EndpointV2. On-chain investigator ZachXBT first identified the breach, noting that the attacker used Tornado Cash to conceal funding sources. In response, Kelp DAO immediately paused all rsETH contracts across mainnet and Layer-2 networks, preventing two additional attempts to drain another $100 million in assets. The protocol is collaborating with LayerZero and Unichain for a full investigation. The incident has impacted the broader DeFi ecosystem, leading Aave to freeze rsETH markets on its V3 and V4 deployments as a precaution, though its own contracts remain secure. The stolen rsETH represents around 18% of its circulating supply, significantly damaging liquidity and user confidence.

bitcoinist04/19 22:33

Kelp DAO Suffers $292 Million rsETH Exploit – Details

bitcoinist04/19 22:33

DeFi Hacked Again for $292 Million, Is Even Aave No Longer Safe?

On April 19, a major DeFi security breach occurred, resulting in the loss of approximately $292 million. The attack targeted Kelp DAO’s rsETH bridge contract built on LayerZero, with 116,500 rsETH stolen. The attacker initiated the exploit using funds from Tornado Cash and manipulated the LayerZero EndpointV2 contract to transfer the assets. Kelp DAO confirmed the incident and temporarily paused rsETH contracts across multiple networks while collaborating with security experts for investigation. Initial analysis suggests the root cause was a compromised private key on the source chain, with the contract secured by only a 1/1 validator set, making it vulnerable to a single malicious transaction. The attacker used the stolen rsETH as collateral on lending platforms—including Aave, Compound, and Euler—to borrow more liquid assets like WETH, accumulating over $236 million in debt. Aave alone accounted for $196 million of this amount. In response, Aave froze its rsETH markets and stated it would explore covering potential bad debt through its Umbrella safety module, which holds around $50 million in WETH. This incident follows another large exploit earlier in April, where Drift Protocol on Solana lost $280 million. The repeated high-value attacks raise concerns about DeFi security, even affecting major protocols like Aave. Users are advised to exercise caution, diversify holdings, and limit exposure to on-chain protocols until more robust security measures are established.

marsbit04/18 23:31

DeFi Hacked Again for $292 Million, Is Even Aave No Longer Safe?

marsbit04/18 23:31

DeFi Hacked Again, Losing $292 Million: Is Even Aave No Longer Safe?

On April 19, DeFi suffered another major security breach, with liquid staking protocol Kelp DAO losing approximately 116,500 rsETH (worth around $292 million) due to an exploit in its LayerZero-based bridge contract. The attack originated from a compromised private key on the source chain, allowing the hacker to initiate unauthorized transfer via a single validator. The attacker used the stolen rsETH as collateral on lending platforms including Aave, Compound, and Euler to borrow more liquid assets like wETH, resulting in over $236 million in debt—$196 million from Aave alone. Aave quickly froze its rsETH markets and announced it would explore covering potential bad debt through its Umbrella safety module, which holds about $50 million in WETH. This incident follows a $280 million exploit on Solana’s Drift Protocol earlier in April, raising further concerns about DeFi security. Even established protocols like Aave are now indirectly exposed, prompting warnings for users to diversify holdings and limit exposure to smart contract risks. Investigations are ongoing.

Odaily星球日报04/18 23:24

DeFi Hacked Again, Losing $292 Million: Is Even Aave No Longer Safe?

Odaily星球日报04/18 23:24

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