EL7.AI
CryptoMediumUpdated×53•Originally published 18 April 2026•Updated 20 April 2026•
1 min read

AAVE Plummets 37% Following Kelp DAO Exploit and rsETH Drain

Key Facts

1AAVE price dropped by 12% following a security exploit targeting Kelp DAO.
2The exploit on Kelp DAO amounted to approximately $280 million, raising concerns over Ethereum-based financial systems.

The AAVE token price continues its steep descent, down approximately 75% from its August 2025 peak following the exploit of Kelp DAO’s bridge on Saturday, April 18. The security breach led to a significant depletion of Kelp DAO's rsETH token reserves, a critical blow to a key player in the Ethereum restaking ecosystem. The incident resulted in a $292 million drain, impacting users who utilized the protocol for yield generation and causing an $8 billion drop in TVL. AAVE is currently trading near the $91 level, retesting a daily descending trendline as support amid a broader 2.5% fall in Bitcoin (BTC). While DefiLlama's founder defended the protocol's data integrity, analysts remain focused on collateral risks as the DeFi sector reassesses the impact on rsETH liquidity.