Kelp DAO
Summary
Kelp DAO is a liquid restaking protocol built on EigenLayer that issues rsETH, a non-rebasing liquid restaking token. Originally incubated by Stader Labs and later rebranded to KernelDAO, the protocol grew to over $1.6 billion in TVL before suffering the largest single DeFi exploit of 2026: a $292 million cross-chain bridge attack attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group. The protocol completed an operational rsETH recovery approximately five weeks after the hack through the DeFi United initiative, but significant reputational, systemic, and structural questions remain.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 4 more
Timeline(14 events)
2023-11-10
Code4rena competitive audit of rsETH smart contracts begins; concludes November 15, 2023. Five vulnerabilities found: 3 HIGH, 2 MEDIUM.
Code4rena Audit Report2024-03-04
MixBytes publishes security audit of Kelp DAO LRT-ETH smart contracts.
MixBytes Audit Report2024-02-21
Kelp DAO introduces the KEP token, making EigenLayer points liquid and tradeable for rsETH holders.
CoinDesk2024-05-22
Kelp DAO closes a $9 million private token sale at a $90 million valuation. Investors include SCB Limited, Laser Digital, Hypersphere Ventures, DWF Ventures, and others.
The Block2024-12-31
Snapshot date for KERNEL Season 1 airdrop eligibility. Kelp DAO announces rebranding to KernelDAO.
KernelDAO GitBook Tokenomics2025-04-14
KERNEL token generation event (TGE). Token launches with governance, staking, and liquidity mining utilities.
Gate News2026-04-06
An open-source security audit tool allegedly flags opacity in Kelp DAO's DVN configuration, noting it is not publicly disclosed. The warning is not acted upon.
PANews2026-04-18
At 17:35 UTC, attackers exploit Kelp DAO's LayerZero cross-chain bridge via a 1-of-1 DVN configuration, draining 116,500 rsETH (~$292 million). Kelp's emergency multisig freezes core contracts 46 minutes later at 18:21 UTC. Two subsequent drain attempts totaling ~$100 million are blocked. Funds enter Tornado Cash.
CoinDesk2026-04-19
Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid freeze rsETH collateral markets. Aave models $124M to $230M in potential bad debt. DeFi TVL begins a two-day drop of over $13 billion.
CoinDesk2026-04-20
Kelp DAO publicly disputes LayerZero's attribution of fault, claiming the 1-of-1 verifier setup reflected LayerZero's default documentation and quickstart guide recommendations.
CoinDesk2026-04-22
LayerZero attributes the exploit to North Korea's Lazarus Group (TraderTraitor subgroup) and announces cooperation with global law enforcement. Arbitrum Security Council freezes ~30,766 ETH linked to the exploit on Arbitrum One.
The Block2026-05-10
LayerZero issues a public apology, admits fault in the single-verifier architecture, and pledges 10,000 ETH to aid recovery. DeFi United consortium reportedly assembles over $300 million in pledges.
The Block2026-05-13
First recovery tranche of 25,000 rsETH transferred as part of the DeFi United recovery plan.
CoinTelegraph2026-05-26
Final recovery tranche of 20,373.7 rsETH transferred. Kelp DAO declares the operational phase of rsETH recovery complete. rsETH backing reportedly restored to 100%.
CoinTelegraphDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending7/27/2026, 5:09:02 PMhash: GmL9vQYgPBeH4mtQKttpfjWMrQkHGNnjRAbd5vyMyrof
19 of 24 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 7/27/2026, 5:08:47 PM
last updated: 7/27/2026, 8:51:00 PM
avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world