Lido EarnETH has approximately $21.6 million exposure to rsETH and plans to activate a $3 million first-loss protection mechanism.
According to an official Lido tweet, on April 18, 2026, attackers stole 116,500 rsETH (approximately $292 million) from the Kelp cross-chain bridge. Lending platforms including Aave subsequently froze the rsETH market. Lido’s EarnETH treasury holds approximately 9% exposure to rsETH (roughly $21.6 million) via leveraged positions on Aave; deposits and withdrawals are currently suspended. The EarnETH team is actively reducing leverage and mitigating risk; the final loss amount will depend on subsequent decisions by Kelp, LayerZero, and Aave. The Lido DAO treasury has a $3 million “first-loss protection mechanism,” which may be activated—via burning DAO treasury shares—as needed. Lido’s core staking protocol, as well as stETH and wstETH, remain unaffected by this incident.
