A recent $292 million cyber attack on April 18 has shaken the decentralized finance sector, but it has shown its capacity to withstand significant disruptions, according to a report by Standard Chartered. The bank noted that the exploit, which affected KelpDAO and spilled over into AAVE, the largest DeFi lender, highlighted systemic risks but also demonstrated the sector's ability to respond and adapt. The incident sparked a liquidity crisis, with AAVE seeing a 38% decline in deposits and a 31% decrease in active loans, but the bank reports that the situation has since stabilized. Despite the risks associated with hacks and exploits, Standard Chartered still expects tokenized real-world assets to reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion by the end of 2028, driven by continued growth in DeFi lending and stablecoin liquidity.
The bank's head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, wrote that 'we still project that tokenized real-world assets will reach a market cap of $2 trillion by end-2028, up from $35 billion in October 2025.' The report highlights the importance of security in the crypto sector, where hacks and exploits can erode confidence and slow adoption. However, the swift response by AAVE and other DeFi firms, which committed over $300 million to stabilize the system, has helped to normalize conditions. The incident is also accelerating structural upgrades, including AAVE's V4 upgrade and the forthcoming Ethereum Economic Zone, which aim to reduce reliance on cross-chain bridges, a frequent target in major crypto hacks.