DeFi

LayerZero

Impact

April

<ul>
 <li>KelpDAO links $300M exploit to LayerZero infrastructure, citing compromised RPC nodes and DVN verification flaws.</li>
 <li>Dispute centers on responsibility, with KelpDAO blaming defaults while LayerZero cites configuration choices.</li>
 <li>Attack triggered DeFi disruptions as stolen rsETH moved into lending protocols, forcing market pauses.</li>
</ul>
<p>KelpDAO and LayerZero Labs entered a dispute after a reported $300 million exploit linked to LayerZero infrastructure on April 18, 2026. KelpDAO <a href="https://x.com/KelpDAO/status/2051754226351771772?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> attackers triggered fraudulent transactions across DeFi protocols using compromised LayerZero DVN systems. The incident also included blocked $100 million transactions after KelpDAO paused contracts during the event window.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-exploit-timeline-and-reported-losses-strong"><strong>Exploit Timeline And Reported Losses</strong></h2>
<p>The attack targeted the LayerZero Labs infrastructure, according to KelpDAO and independent researchers. Notably, attackers accessed offchain systems tied to RPC nodes used by the DVN verification layer.</p>
<p>Chainalysis reported that attackers used manipulated data rather than smart contract flaws. This process tricked a 1 of 1 DVN setup into approving invalid transactions.</p>
<p>However, KelpDAO said it stopped further losses by pausing contracts shortly after detection. The team also blocked two additional forged transactions totaling over $100 million.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, researchers linked about 116,500 <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/aave-dao-weighs-25k-eth-move-to-fix-rseth-exploit-gap/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">rsETH</a> in losses to the exploit activity. Downstream lending protocols later absorbed collateralized assets from the stolen funds.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-dispute-over-dvn-configuration-responsibility-strong"><strong>Dispute Over DVN Configuration Responsibility</strong></h2>
<p>KelpDAO challenged LayerZero’s claim that its configuration caused the failure. According to KelpDAO, the 1-1 DVN setup was widely used across LayerZero integrations.</p>
<p>The team cited public data showing thousands of OApp contracts using similar verification structures. It also said around 90 percent of <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/layerzero-commits-10000-eth-to-defi-united-recovery/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">LayerZero</a> messages relied on one or two DVNs.</p>
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<p>Additionally, KelpDAO stated that LayerZero documentation pointed developers toward default configurations. These included setups using LayerZero Labs as the required DVN without optional redundancy.</p>
<p>LayerZero, however, attributed the incident to KelpDAO’s configuration choice in its postmortem report. The company also described the attack as a targeted infrastructure breach involving RPC compromise.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-infrastructure-claims-and-market-impact-strong"><strong>Infrastructure Claims And Market Impact</strong></h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/arbitrum-moves-to-release-71m-eth-after-kelpdao-hit/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">KelpDAO</a>, attackers accessed RPC endpoint lists and compromised internal nodes. These nodes operated across separate clusters within LayerZero’s verification system.</p>
<p>Independent researchers stated that the attack involved infrastructure compromise inside LayerZero’s trust boundary. They also noted that default deployments lacked multi-provider consensus controls in some cases.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, LayerZero reported that DVN instances themselves were not fully compromised. It described the event as an RPC-spoofing attack following node-level breaches.</p>
<p>The incident affected broader DeFi markets as stolen rsETH moved into lending protocols. Several platforms paused markets linked to rsETH and related assets during liquidity stress.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/kelpdao-blames-layerzero-in-300m-bridge-fallout/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">KelpDAO Blames LayerZero in $300M Bridge Fallout</a> appears on <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto Front News</a>. Visit our website to read more interesting articles about cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and digital assets.</p>

KelpDAO Blames LayerZero in $300M Bridge Fallout

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