Aave has coordinated a multi-protocol relief effort called “DeFi United” to compensate victims of the KelpDAO exploit — a $47 million attack that rocked the restaking ecosystem earlier this month.
The initiative has secured pledges from the Ethereum Foundation, Golem Foundation, Lido DAO, Ethena, LayerZero, Ink Foundation, and Tyrdo, collectively representing approximately $12 million in committed support for affected users.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov framed the initiative as collective responsibility. “We succeed together or we fail together,” he said. “DeFi’s legitimacy depends on how we respond when things go wrong.”
KelpDAO’s rsETH token was at the center of the exploit, which involved a reentrancy vulnerability in the protocol’s withdrawal logic. Approximately 4,200 wallets suffered losses. The DeFi United effort is expected to cover around 25% of user losses directly.
