Kelp DAO Completes Full RsETH Recovery After $293M April Hack

Kelp DAO, a DeFi platform, has officially wrapped up its recovery efforts following the April exploit that led to losses of approximately $293 million, with the suspected involvement of the Lazarus hacking group.

In its latest update, the protocol confirmed that it has deposited the final 20,373.7 rsETH into a LayerZero smart contract, which manages locking, minting, burning, and withdrawals for cross-chain transfers. This final transaction marks the completion of the rsETH recovery phase and the closure of its operational restoration plan.

The recovery process had already begun earlier on May 13, when Kelp DAO moved a first batch of 25,000 rsETH and reactivated bridging between Ethereum’s main chain and Layer 2 ecosystems. Following that step, key platform functions, including withdrawals, minting, redemption, and rewards, were brought back online.

Meanwhile, the impact of the exploit extended beyond Kelp DAO, affecting Aave as well. Roughly 116,500 rsETH was used on Aave to borrow wrapped Ethereum, resulting in about $190 million in bad debt. Since then, Aave’s total value locked has declined significantly from around $26.4 billion to the $14–15 billion range and has not yet recovered to prior levels.

Source: Kelp DAO