Weekly Recap: Kelp Crisis Tests DeFi's Resilience

Happy weekend, Defiers!

DeFi just lived through its worst week of the year.

A LayerZero bridge exploit on Kelp DAO drained $293M in 46 minutes, leaving Aave saddled with more than $200M in bad debt and triggering a "DeFi United" industry-wide rescue scramble led by Kelp and Aave Labs.

Elsewhere, the rift between Justin Sun and World Liberty Financial spilled into a California federal courtroom this week, with the TRON founder suing the Trump family's DeFi project over frozen WLFI tokens.

Bitcoin held near $78K as $10B in options settled on Deribit, with traders eyeing next week's Fed meeting and the simmering Strait of Hormuz standoff.

Meanwhile, MegaETH cleared the first of three performance KPIs, locking in an April 30 TGE for its MEGA token.

Finally, the prediction market arms race took a new turn as Polymarket and Kalshi both moved to roll out perpetual futures trading.

Enjoy!

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Top Stories This Week

Kelp DAO Loses $293M in Bridge Exploit, Leaving Aave With Over $200M in Bad Debt

In just 46 minutes, DeFi lost more money than it had in any single event this year, and left Aave to face its biggest challenge yet, after an attacker minted unbacked rsETH through Kelp's LayerZero bridge, then borrowed WETH on Aave V3 and V4 before markets could be frozen.

Since the exploit, a "DeFi United" industry recovery effort spearheaded by Kelp and Aave Labs has been scrambling to plug the shortfall.

Justin Sun Sues World Liberty Financial Over Frozen WLFI Tokens

TRON founder Justin Sun has filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial in California federal court, marking the latest escalation in a bitter public feud between WLFI's largest investor and the Trump family’s DeFi project.

Bitcoin Holds Near $78K as $10B amid Hormuz Standoff

Crypto markets were relatively calm on Friday as traders turned their attention to next week's Federal Reserve meeting and a renewed escalation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven-Day Countdown to MEGA Begins as MegaETH Clears First KPI

Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain MegaETH has cleared the first of three self-imposed performance hurdles and scheduled the TGE for its native MEGA token for April 30.

Polymarket and Kalshi Are Both Set to Launch Perp Trading

The two largest prediction market platforms by trading volume are both moving into perpetual futures trading as the sector heats up.

Trending

• Aave DAO Asked to Commit 25,000 ETH to Industry-Wide rsETH Recovery Fund
• DeFi United Fundraising Chips Away at Kelp Exploit Shortfall
• Bitcoin Holds Near $78K as $10B of Options Settle on Deribit
• Seven-Day Countdown to MEGA Begins as MegaETH Clears First KPI
• Aave Announces 'DeFi United' Relief Fund to Restore rsETH Backing After Kelp Exploit
• Bitcoin Pulls Back From $78K As Persian Gulf Risk Trumps Institutional Bid

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