KelpDAO: rsETH Outflows Signal Investor Confidence Post-Hack Recovery

by

KelpDAO: rsETH Records $936k Net Outflows One Month Post-Hack – Details

The KelpDAO hack, which resulted in a $292 million loss, was one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts of 2026. This attack significantly shook users’ trust in the system, causing a $13.5 billion decrease in the total value of assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi). Thankfully, there are now signs that confidence is starting to recover.

Investors Move To Accumulate rsETH As KelpDAO Resumes Operations 

On April 18th, hackers took advantage of a weakness in KelpDAO’s cross-chain bridge, stealing $292 million worth of rsETH (152,577 units). Data from Santiment shows that the same day, exchanges saw an increase of $1.1 million (563 rsETH) coming in. Santiment analysts believe this is a normal reaction to the attack, as it raised worries about the security of KelpDAO and rsETH. As a result, investors transferred their rsETH to exchanges, likely to sell it or trade it for more stable assets like stablecoins, minimizing potential losses from the hack.

On April 18th, the day the Kelp DAO was exploited, data from Santiment showed a significant increase in $rsETH being transferred to exchanges – about 563 rsETH more came in than went out. This was a natural reaction, as traders were worried about the security of the…

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 16, 2026

After the recent hack, several groups worked to recover funds. KelpDAO, Arbitrum, and Aave froze the hackers’ accounts on their platforms. Aave also received donations from other DeFi platforms like EtherFi, Lido, and Ethena to help with recovery efforts. On May 15th, KelpDAO restarted its reETH services, including withdrawals and bridging. Shortly after this announcement, analytics firm Santiment noted that around 435 rsETH (worth $936,000) left exchanges.

As I’ve been observing, we’re seeing a trend of rsETH moving *away* from centralized exchanges. This outflow seems to indicate that investors are gaining confidence in rsETH, especially after the recent recovery and removal of restrictions. What’s happening now is a clear move towards people taking control of their rsETH – they’re putting it in their own wallets, staking it, or using it in various DeFi applications.

THORChain Suffers $11 Million Hack

As a researcher following the crypto space, I’ve been tracking a recent attack on THORChain, a decentralized liquidity protocol. According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, the attack resulted in losses of around $10.8 million. What’s particularly concerning is that the exploits happened across multiple blockchains – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and even the newer Base network.

THORChain is a platform that lets you directly trade cryptocurrencies across different blockchains. Unfortunately, it has been used in the past to move stolen funds by criminals and hackers. After a recent security breach, the team at THORChain has temporarily stopped trading and declared a critical emergency.

Security breaches and hacking continue to be a significant problem for people using cryptocurrencies. Today, DefiLama reported that these attacks have resulted in losses of $823.9 million so far in 2026. The overall value of the crypto market is currently $2.57 trillion, which is a decrease of 2.74% from yesterday.

Read More

2026-05-16 23:57