Major Crypto Heist: $292 Million Stolen from Kelp DAO, Leaving 20 Blockchains Vulnerable

A devastating crypto heist has struck Kelp DAO, a liquid restaking protocol, resulting in the theft of 116,500 rsETH, valued at approximately $292 million. The breach occurred on Saturday at 17:35 UTC, when an attacker exploited a vulnerability in LayerZero's cross-chain messaging layer, tricking the system into releasing the funds to an attacker-controlled address. The stolen rsETH was part of a reserve backing wrapped versions of the token on over 20 blockchains, including Base, Arbitrum, and Scroll. The attack has triggered a wave of panic, with major DeFi platforms such as Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid freezing their rsETH markets to mitigate potential losses. The incident has also led to a significant decline in AAVE's value, with the token falling by around 10%. As the situation unfolds, Kelp DAO is working with LayerZero, Unichain, and security specialists to investigate the breach and recover the stolen funds. The hack is the latest in a series of high-profile DeFi exploits, including the recent breach of Solana-based perpetuals protocol Drift, which lost approximately $285 million. The Kelp DAO incident is now the largest DeFi exploit of 2026, and its impact is expected to be felt across the cryptocurrency market.