Crypto's Biggest Heist of 2026: Kelp DAO Loses $292 Million to Hackers

A devastating hack has struck the cryptocurrency world, with Kelp DAO's cross-chain bridge being drained of nearly $292 million in restaked ether tokens. This massive exploit, which occurred on Saturday, has sent shockwaves through the DeFi community, prompting emergency freezes and raising concerns about the stability of the ecosystem. The attacker managed to trick LayerZero's cross-chain messaging layer into releasing 116,500 rsETH to an attacker-controlled address, worth approximately 18% of the token's circulating supply. The fallout is widespread, with Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid freezing their rsETH markets and Lido Finance pausing further deposits into its earnETH product. As the situation continues to unfold, the DeFi community holds its breath, waiting to see if Kelp can recover any of the stolen funds and mitigate the damage.