Weekly Recap: LayerZero Apologizes after Kelp Disputes Exploit Postmortem

Happy weekend, Defiers!

LayerZero issued a rare mea culpa over its role in the $292 million Kelp DAO bridge exploit, admitting its own validator should never have been the lone verifier on high-value transfers.

In markets, tokenization roared back into the spotlight as ONDO jumped 68% in a week on the back of the DTCC's pilot timeline, while Bitcoin hovered around $80,000 as spot ETFs snapped a five-day inflow streak.

Meanwhile, Polkadot's slow drift into irrelevance came into sharper focus, with former insiders citing leadership drift, unpaid contributors, and treasury overspending.

Finally, TON more than doubled after Pavel Durov said Telegram would absorb the TON Foundation's role and become the network's largest validator.

Enjoy!

👀 Don’t miss our newest newsletter, Converge by The Defiant, where we track how trillions of assets are coming on-chain. Each week, you’ll get a weekly summary of the high-signal RWA and stablecoin news you can’t miss, and in-depth analysis to put it all in context.

Subscribe to Converge

Ethereum's decentralised staking protocol just got a big upgrade! Saturn One brings 4 ETH validators, an RPL fee switch, and more. Stake your ETH with Rocket Pool today.

Top Stories This Week

LayerZero Admits Mistake in 1/1 DVN Setup Tied to $292M Kelp Hack

LayerZero on Friday issued a public apology for its handling of the April 18 exploit that drained roughly $292 million from Kelp DAO's rsETH bridge, conceding it should not have allowed its own validator to operate as the sole verifier securing high-value transactions.

The update came after Kelp publicly accused LayerZero of "blaming users for an issue that was caused by their own infrastructure failure."

ONDO Surges 68% in a Week amid US Tokenization Push

The rally kicked off after the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation revealed timelines for its tokenization service and named Ondo Finance among more than 50 firms in its industry working group.

Bitcoin Slips Under $80,000 As ETFs Snap Five-Day Inflow Streak

Crypto markets were mostly unchanged on Friday as Bitcoin hovered around the $80,000 level. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $277.5 million in net outflows on Thursday, ending a five-day run that pulled in roughly $1.69 billion in fresh capital.

‘Polkadot Is Kind of Done.’ The Once Hyped Layer 0 Faces Falling Usage, and Controversy

Former Polkadot insiders report lack of direction and support from leadership, treasury overspending, and even failure to pay contributors for their work.

Toncoin Surges as Telegram Takes Direct Control of TON Network

Toncoin (TON) more than doubled this week after Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the messaging app will replace the TON Foundation as the driving force behind The Open Network and become its largest validator.

Trending

• LayerZero Admits Mistake in 1/1 DVN Setup Tied to $292M Kelp Hack
• MegaETH Kicks Off MEGA Buybacks
• ONDO Surges 68% in a Week amid US Tokenization Push
• Kraken Parent Payward Seeks US Federal Trust Charter
• ECB's Lagarde: Euro Stablecoins Aren't the Answer, Build Public Infrastructure Instead
• Bitcoin Slips Under $80,000 As ETFs Snap Five-Day Inflow Streak

That’s it for today — have a great weekend! If you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends! https://thedefiant.io/subscribe