Kelp DAO and Aave say they have completed key recovery steps to restore rsETH backing after the April exploit. Teams paused markets, liquidated attacker positions and burned exploiter rsETH on Arbitrum to neutralize forged supply. Protocols plan a staged refill of rsETH backing from recovery safes over the next two weeks.
The attack let an exploiter mint or move about 116,500 rsETH across chains, creating roughly $292 million in exposure. Kelp paused rsETH contracts, and Aave halted rsETH markets to stop contagion and measure bad debt. Teams then liquidated attacker positions and moved recovered collateral into a recovery multisig to protect remaining users.
Aave and Kelp located exploiter‑controlled rsETH on Arbitrum and removed that supply. Protocols executed on-chain burns where possible to prevent the attacker’s tokens from reentering circulation. That burn was a key technical step before any refill of backing could begin.
How Backing Will be Restored
Protocols say 117,132 rsETH will be refilled gradually from the Aave Recovery Guardian and Kelp Recovery Safe. The refills will flow into the LayerZero OFT adapter on mainnet over two weeks. Kelp says rsETH on mainnet and layer‑2 networks remains fully backed at all times during the staged process.
Kelp plans to unpause withdrawals tentatively within 24 hours after the first tranche reaches the mainnet OFT adapter. Teams expect deposits, redemptions, bridging and claim functions to resume after contracts are unpaused. Governance votes and technical checks will gate each step of the restart process.
Last week teams completed a security hardening pass across LayerZero bridging settings. Verification now requires four independent attestors, and block confirmation thresholds rose from 42 to 64. The teams also deprecated all L2-to-L2 routes to reduce the attack surface. BailSec audited these changes, and the audit report informed the staged restart plan.
Kelp and partners are migrating rsETH bridging toward Chainlink’s CCIP for additional cross‑chain security. Protocols said the CCIP migration will be part of a broader move to stronger verifiers, stricter reserve checks and improved custody controls. Independent audits and proof‑of‑reserve snapshots will follow each major technical change.
Users should expect staged tranches of rsETH refill into the mainnet OFT adapter and an initial unpause of withdrawals after the first tranche clears. Watch governance forums for Aave and Kelp DAO votes that approve transfers and contract changes. Protocol channels will publish proof‑of‑reserve reports and auditor findings before full normal operations resume.
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