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Project Overview
LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol designed to enable developers to seamlessly issue, connect, and expand assets or applications across multiple blockchains. The protocol provides permissionless infrastructure through a decentralized architecture, with core functions including fully composable liquidity transport and support for cross-chain messaging and the Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. By decoupling underlying communication logic from the application layer, LayerZero allows smart contracts on different networks to interact directly, eliminating the complexity of cross-chain bridging while enhancing capital efficiency and development velocity.
Curve Finance Suspends LayerZero Cross-Chain Bridging Functionality in Response to rsETH Infrastructure Hack
According to an official announcement from Curve Finance, due to a hacker attack on the rsETH LayerZero infrastructure, Curve Finance has suspended its LayerZero infrastructure for security reasons, pending further investigation into the root cause before resuming operations. This suspension affects the following: cross-chain bridging of CRV tokens from BNB Chain, Sonic, Avalanche, Fantom, Etherlink, and Kava (chains using native bridges remain unaffected), as well as the crvUSD fast bridge functionality (the L2 slow bridge remains fully operational). Meanwhile, KelpDAO is also reported to have suffered a vulnerability exploit involving approximately $291 million; the exact extent of losses is still under investigation.
Kelp：Paused rsETH Contracts on Mainnet and Multiple L2s, Launches Investigation into Attack
Odaily News The Ethereum restaking protocol Kelp has officially confirmed suspicious cross-chain activity involving rsETH. It has currently paused the rsETH contracts on the mainnet and multiple L2s and launched an investigation into the attack. It is also collaborating with LayerZero, Unichain, as well as audit firms and security experts to conduct a root cause analysis (RCA). A post-mortem report will be released subsequently.
Kelp DAO Cross-Chain Bridge Attacked, ~$292M rsETH Stolen
According to CoinDesk, Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-based cross-chain bridge was attacked, with the attacker withdrawing 116,500 rsETH—worth approximately $292 million at current prices, or roughly 18% of its circulating supply. This incident has become the largest DeFi attack of 2026 to date. In response, Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid have frozen rsETH-related markets, and Lido Finance has suspended new deposits into its earnETH product. Kelp DAO stated it is jointly investigating the incident with LayerZero, auditing firms, and external security experts.
Aave’s “DeFi United” Relief Program has currently received commitments for loans and donations totaling 69,576 ETH.
According to on-chain analyst Yujin (@EmberCN), Aave covered $25,000 ETH (approximately $57.75 million) out of its own funds to address bad debt arising from the rsETH incident and spearheaded the “DeFi United” relief initiative. The total bad debt shortfall stands at 75,081 ETH; commitments for loans and donations totaling 69,576 ETH have already been secured, leaving a remaining gap of only 5,505 ETH. Multiple institutions—including LayerZero—have confirmed participation in the relief effort, though specific contribution amounts have not yet been disclosed. The shortfall is expected to be fully covered.
An address deposited 1.397 million UNI tokens—worth approximately $4.6 million—to three exchanges two hours ago.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Aunt (@ai_9684xtpa), the address 0xb5E…Fc24e deposited a total of 1.397 million UNI tokens—worth approximately $4.6 million—into three exchanges two hours ago. Notably, the Bybit deposit address has had multiple interactions with the DeFi crypto fund DeFiance Capital, which is an investor in both Aave and LayerZero—two entities closely linked to the recent Kelp DAO hack incident.
JPMorgan: Frequent DeFi hacks and stagnant TVL continue to suppress institutional participation
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts noted in their latest report that ongoing DeFi security vulnerabilities and stagnant growth in total value locked (TVL) continue to constrain institutional enthusiasm for the DeFi sector. Recently, Kelp DAO’s cross-chain bridge suffered a major attack, during which the attacker minted $292 million worth of uncollateralized rsETH tokens and borrowed real ETH on Aave, resulting in approximately $230 million in bad debt. This caused DeFi TVL to evaporate by roughly $20 billion within several days. LayerZero and blockchain security researchers have attributed this attack to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group; some of the stolen funds have been frozen, while the rest remain in circulation. Analysts also pointed out that DeFi TVL denominated in ETH has remained range-bound for an extended period, raising market concerns about whether DeFi can achieve organic growth sufficient to support institutional adoption. Furthermore, following each security incident, users tend to shift funds into USDT as a safe-haven asset—yet this trend has not yet significantly driven USDT’s market capitalization growth.
rsETH Hack Causes 68,900 ETH Shortfall; DeFi United Raises 13,500 ETH for Industry自救
According to on-chain analyst Ember (@EmberCN), the rsETH incident on April 18 resulted in a funding shortfall of approximately 68,900 ETH (around $160 million): the hacker collateralized rsETH to borrow 99,600 ETH; after Arbitrum recovered 30,700 ETH, the remaining funds were fully converted by the hacker into BTC. The incident has now entered the remediation phase. Aave is coordinating the establishment of a “DeFi United” relief fund, which has so far received cumulative donations totaling 13,500 ETH (approximately $31.45 million). Donors include Lido Finance (2,500 stETH), ether.fi Foundation (5,000 ETH), Aave founder Stani Kulechov (5,000 ETH), Golem Foundation (1,000 ETH), as well as LayerZero and Ink Foundation (amounts undisclosed).
The KelpDAO attacker bridged funds to Arbitrum and then transferred them to TRON.
According to on-chain analyst PeckShield (@PeckShieldAlert), the KelpDAO attacker has transferred ETH from Ethereum to Arbitrum via the Across Protocol, swapped it for USDT, and then routed the funds to TRON DAO via LayerZero.
LayerZero’s “Strategic Partner” wallet distributed 1.21 million ZRO tokens, of which 855,000 were transferred to Binance.
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin (@EmberCN), a strategic partner wallet of LayerZero distributed unlocked $ZRO tokens to 52 addresses half an hour ago, transferring a total of 1.21 million $ZRO (approximately $1.97 million). The largest single transfer—855,000 $ZRO (approximately $1.42 million)—has already been sent to Binance.
DeFi United Raises Over $300 Million in Funding
Circle Ventures, Consensys, and Joseph Lubin have announced their support for the DeFi United initiative, aimed at mitigating losses caused by the Kelp DAO vulnerability. Circle Ventures is supporting the ecosystem by purchasing AAVE tokens. Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin have confirmed the provision of 30,000 ETH to DeFi United. To date, DeFi United has raised over 132,000 ETH, with a total value exceeding $300 million. These funds will be used to cover bad debts resulting from an attacker minting unbacked rsETH via the LayerZero bridge and borrowing assets on Aave. Previously, Aave proposed a donation of 25,000 ETH, while Lido DAO, Ether.fi, and Kelp have respectively proposed or pledged donations of 2,500 ETH, 5,000 ETH, and 2,000 ETH.
An address deposited 1.397 million UNI tokens—worth approximately $4.6 million—to three exchanges two hours ago.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Aunt (@ai_9684xtpa), the address 0xb5E…Fc24e deposited a total of 1.397 million UNI tokens—worth approximately $4.6 million—into three exchanges two hours ago. Notably, the Bybit deposit address has had multiple interactions with the DeFi crypto fund DeFiance Capital, which is an investor in both Aave and LayerZero—two entities closely linked to the recent Kelp DAO hack incident.
JPMorgan: Frequent DeFi hacks and stagnant TVL continue to suppress institutional participation
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts noted in their latest report that ongoing DeFi security vulnerabilities and stagnant growth in total value locked (TVL) continue to constrain institutional enthusiasm for the DeFi sector. Recently, Kelp DAO’s cross-chain bridge suffered a major attack, during which the attacker minted $292 million worth of uncollateralized rsETH tokens and borrowed real ETH on Aave, resulting in approximately $230 million in bad debt. This caused DeFi TVL to evaporate by roughly $20 billion within several days. LayerZero and blockchain security researchers have attributed this attack to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group; some of the stolen funds have been frozen, while the rest remain in circulation. Analysts also pointed out that DeFi TVL denominated in ETH has remained range-bound for an extended period, raising market concerns about whether DeFi can achieve organic growth sufficient to support institutional adoption. Furthermore, following each security incident, users tend to shift funds into USDT as a safe-haven asset—yet this trend has not yet significantly driven USDT’s market capitalization growth.
rsETH Hack Causes 68,900 ETH Shortfall; DeFi United Raises 13,500 ETH for Industry自救
According to on-chain analyst Ember (@EmberCN), the rsETH incident on April 18 resulted in a funding shortfall of approximately 68,900 ETH (around $160 million): the hacker collateralized rsETH to borrow 99,600 ETH; after Arbitrum recovered 30,700 ETH, the remaining funds were fully converted by the hacker into BTC. The incident has now entered the remediation phase. Aave is coordinating the establishment of a “DeFi United” relief fund, which has so far received cumulative donations totaling 13,500 ETH (approximately $31.45 million). Donors include Lido Finance (2,500 stETH), ether.fi Foundation (5,000 ETH), Aave founder Stani Kulechov (5,000 ETH), Golem Foundation (1,000 ETH), as well as LayerZero and Ink Foundation (amounts undisclosed).
Lido proposes using up to $5.8M stETH to cover Kelp’s funding gap
the Lido team has initiated a proposal, planning to allocate up to 2,500 stETH (approximately $5.8 million) from the DAO to cover the rsETH asset shortfall resulting from the recent attack on Kelp DAO.Lido noted that the LayerZero-based exploit has led to insufficient rsETH reserves, triggering a chain reaction across the DeFi ecosystem, including rising interest rate pressure, tightening lending markets, and certain leveraged strategies facing passive liquidation risks.The proposal emphasizes that these funds will only be used as part of a complete recovery solution, provided that the overall shortfall can be fully addressed.Previously, the approximately $292 million attack on Kelp DAO had already impacted Aave, leading to bad debt issues, and its total value locked (TVL) once declined by nearly $8 billion.
The KelpDAO attacker bridged funds to Arbitrum and then transferred them to TRON.
According to on-chain analyst PeckShield (@PeckShieldAlert), the KelpDAO attacker has transferred ETH from Ethereum to Arbitrum via the Across Protocol, swapped it for USDT, and then routed the funds to TRON DAO via LayerZero.
Blockworks completes Series A extension funding at $192 million valuation, betting on the integration of crypto data and information infrastructure
Blockworks has announced the completion of a Series A extension funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $192 million. The round was co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures, with support from Coinbase Ventures, MoonPay Ventures, and several other institutions and industry participants. The funding also attracted investments from over 20 founders and operators of ecosystem projects including Solana, LayerZero, Arbitrum, and Kraken, though the specific amount raised has not been disclosed.The company stated that while the crypto market has grown to a trillion-dollar scale lacking traditional capital market infrastructure, it still faces issues such as fragmented data, inconsistent disclosure standards, and a lack of investor communication mechanisms. Blockworks aims to fill this gap through a "data + disclosure + investor relations" tripartite architecture. (CNBC)
LayerZero Labs Commits Over 10,000 ETH to DeFi United
LayerZero Labs announced on platform X that it has committed over 10,000 ETH in support to DeFi United, led by Aave. Specific actions include donating 5,000 ETH to DeFi United, depositing 5,000 ETH into the Aave market to enhance liquidity, and deepening GHO liquidity.
DeFi United Raises Over $300 Million in Funding
Circle Ventures, Consensys, and Joseph Lubin have announced their support for the DeFi United initiative, aimed at mitigating losses caused by the Kelp DAO vulnerability. Circle Ventures is supporting the ecosystem by purchasing AAVE tokens. Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin have confirmed the provision of 30,000 ETH to DeFi United. To date, DeFi United has raised over 132,000 ETH, with a total value exceeding $300 million. These funds will be used to cover bad debts resulting from an attacker minting unbacked rsETH via the LayerZero bridge and borrowing assets on Aave. Previously, Aave proposed a donation of 25,000 ETH, while Lido DAO, Ether.fi, and Kelp have respectively proposed or pledged donations of 2,500 ETH, 5,000 ETH, and 2,000 ETH.
Aave Establishes Recovery Fund to Promote Full Redemption of rsETH, Collaborates with KelpDAO and LayerZero to Launch Execution Plan
Aave announced that its ecosystem partners and service providers will establish a recovery fund to promote the full asset backing of rsETH. This plan has comprehensively considered the pending Aave DAO governance votes (including the Arbitrum governance vote), indicative protocols, and subsequent successful execution. Aave stated that it has reached an agreement with KelpDAO and LayerZero on the technical steps required to execute the recovery plan, and related work is progressing. Addressing the issues of affected users and maintaining the stability of the broader DeFi ecosystem are the current top priorities. The final recovery plan, user action steps, and further updates will be announced in the near future.
Ethena has restored the LayerZero cross-chain bridge functionality for sUSDe and USDe and enhanced its security configuration.
Ethena officially announced that the LayerZero cross-chain bridge functionality for sUSDe and USDe has been fully restored across all chains. To enhance security, Ethena has upgraded the Decentralized Verification Network (DVN) configuration on each chain from 2/2 to 4/4, while maintaining the existing rate limit of $10 million per hour. The official team stated that further updates will be provided as needed.
ether.fi: The weETH LayerZero bridge has resumed operations, and the number of DVNs has increased to four.
ether.fi announced on X that the weETH cross-chain bridge powered by LayerZero is now fully restored across all chains, with liquidity minting and redemption functionalities re-enabled. For security, the ether team has increased the number of DVNs (Decentralized Verification Nodes) from two to four and implemented stricter rate-limiting mechanisms to further enhance system security. Additionally, related services will be gradually restored under the guidance of security partners, with more updates to follow.
Related news
Blockworks completes Series A extension funding at $192 million valuation, betting on the integration of crypto data and information infrastructure
Blockworks has announced the completion of a Series A extension funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $192 million. The round was co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures, with support from Coinbase Ventures, MoonPay Ventures, and several other institutions and industry participants. The funding also attracted investments from over 20 founders and operators of ecosystem projects including Solana, LayerZero, Arbitrum, and Kraken, though the specific amount raised has not been disclosed.The company stated that while the crypto market has grown to a trillion-dollar scale lacking traditional capital market infrastructure, it still faces issues such as fragmented data, inconsistent disclosure standards, and a lack of investor communication mechanisms. Blockworks aims to fill this gap through a "data + disclosure + investor relations" tripartite architecture. (CNBC)
LayerZero Labs Commits Over 10,000 ETH to DeFi United
LayerZero Labs announced on platform X that it has committed over 10,000 ETH in support to DeFi United, led by Aave. Specific actions include donating 5,000 ETH to DeFi United, depositing 5,000 ETH into the Aave market to enhance liquidity, and deepening GHO liquidity.
LayerZero team-associated wallet deposits 1 million ZRO into Binance, still holds 29 million ZRO
According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a wallet (0x1f9034...3909) associated with the LayerZero team has deposited 1 million ZRO, worth $1.43 million, into Binance. The wallet still holds 29 million ZRO, valued at $41.34 million, with potential further deposits expected.
DeFi United Raises Over $300 Million in Funding
Circle Ventures, Consensys, and Joseph Lubin have announced their support for the DeFi United initiative, aimed at mitigating losses caused by the Kelp DAO vulnerability. Circle Ventures is supporting the ecosystem by purchasing AAVE tokens. Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin have confirmed the provision of 30,000 ETH to DeFi United. To date, DeFi United has raised over 132,000 ETH, with a total value exceeding $300 million. These funds will be used to cover bad debts resulting from an attacker minting unbacked rsETH via the LayerZero bridge and borrowing assets on Aave. Previously, Aave proposed a donation of 25,000 ETH, while Lido DAO, Ether.fi, and Kelp have respectively proposed or pledged donations of 2,500 ETH, 5,000 ETH, and 2,000 ETH.
Aave Establishes Recovery Fund to Promote Full Redemption of rsETH, Collaborates with KelpDAO and LayerZero to Launch Execution Plan
Aave announced that its ecosystem partners and service providers will establish a recovery fund to promote the full asset backing of rsETH. This plan has comprehensively considered the pending Aave DAO governance votes (including the Arbitrum governance vote), indicative protocols, and subsequent successful execution. Aave stated that it has reached an agreement with KelpDAO and LayerZero on the technical steps required to execute the recovery plan, and related work is progressing. Addressing the issues of affected users and maintaining the stability of the broader DeFi ecosystem are the current top priorities. The final recovery plan, user action steps, and further updates will be announced in the near future.
Aave submits a governance proposal to Arbitrum DAO, requesting the release of frozen ETH to be injected into DeFi United
Aave posted on X, stating that the Aave service provider, together with stakeholders such as Ether_fi, KelpDAO, LayerZero_Core, and compound_xyz, has submitted a governance proposal to the Arbitrum DAO. The proposal requests the release of the ETH previously frozen by the Arbitrum Security Council following the rsETH incident on April 18. If the proposal passes, the funds will be injected into DeFi United to restore the rsETH collateral assets and compensate for user losses. The proposal is now open for review and is seeking feedback from the Arbitrum community.