A recent $292 million cyber attack on April 18 has shaken the DeFi sector, but according to Standard Chartered, it has shown the ability to withstand significant stress. The incident, which involved an exploit on KelpDAO and subsequently affected AAVE, the largest DeFi lender, led to a sharp decline in liquidity and a significant drop in deposits and active loans. Despite this, the bank remains optimistic about the sector's prospects, predicting that tokenized real-world assets will reach a $2 trillion market capitalization by the end of 2028.
The report highlights the sector's growing resilience, with AAVE and other DeFi firms committing over $300 million to stabilize the system and accelerate structural upgrades, including AAVE's V4 upgrade and the forthcoming Ethereum Economic Zone, aimed at reducing reliance on vulnerable cross-chain bridges.