Massive Crypto Heist: $292 Million Stolen from Kelp DAO, Leaving 20 Blockchains Exposed

A significant breach occurred on a cross-chain bridge, leading to the loss of nearly a fifth of the circulating supply of a restaked ether token, with the stolen amount valued at approximately $292 million. The incident involved an attacker exploiting a vulnerability in the bridge's messaging layer to trick it into releasing 116,500 rsETH to an attacker-controlled address. The breach has sent shockwaves throughout the DeFi ecosystem, with several major platforms, including Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid, freezing their rsETH markets in response. The fallout from the attack is still unfolding, with the potential for further contagion and instability in the market. The attack is the largest DeFi exploit of 2026, surpassing a recent incident involving Solana-based perpetuals protocol Drift, which lost approximately $285 million in an attack linked to North Korea-affiliated actors.