Consensys and Joseph Lubin Contribute 30,000 ETH to DeFi United Recovery Effort, Total Exceeds $300M

Consensys and founder Joseph Lubin contributed 30,000 ETH to DeFi United, a coordinated industry recovery initiative responding to the Kelp DAO exploit where an attacker minted unbacked rsETH through a compromised LayerZero bridge and used it as collateral on Aave to borrow real assets, leaving the protocol with bad debt. The effort has raised over 132,000 ETH worth more than $300 million, with contributions from Aave (25,000 ETH), Ether.fi (5,000 ETH), Lido DAO (2,500 ETH), and Kelp itself (2,000 ETH), while Circle Ventures purchased AAVE tokens to alleviate impacts. The recovery aims to restore rsETH's backing and normalize market conditions amid broader DeFi challenges, as total value locked declined over 25% from $110 billion at the start of 2025 to about $82 billion currently.

Major Contributions to DeFi United Recovery Effort

• ▪Consensys and Joseph Lubin contributed 30,000 ETH to the DeFi United recovery effort
• ▪Consensys-backed Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink will provide strategic advice to the DeFi United recovery effort
• ▪Aave service providers proposed contributing 25,000 ETH worth nearly $58 million from the protocol's DAO to DeFi United
• ▪The DeFi United effort had raised roughly $235 million worth of Ethereum as of Monday before the latest contributions
• ▪The DeFi United effort raised more than 132,000 ETH worth over $300 million as of Monday
• ▪Circle Ventures purchased AAVE tokens to alleviate negative impacts caused by the recent Kelp DAO exploit
• ▪Kelp pledged 2,000 ETH to the DeFi United recovery effort
• ▪Lido DAO proposed contributing up to 2,500 ETH to the DeFi United recovery effort

The Kelp DAO Exploit and Resulting Bad Debt

• ▪The Kelp DAO attacker used unbacked rsETH as collateral on Aave to borrow real assets
• ▪The DeFi United effort aims to restore rsETH's backing and normalize market conditions

Broader Impact on DeFi Market Conditions

• ▪Total value locked on DeFi protocols sits at about $82 billion as of the article's publication
• ▪Total value locked on DeFi protocols was $110 billion at the start of 2025

Perspective of Consensys and Joseph Lubin

• ▪Consensys's 30,000 ETH contribution represents a significant commitment to protecting the broader Ethereum DeFi ecosystem

Perspective of DeFi ecosystem observers and analysts

• ▪The DeFi United recovery effort represents an unprecedented coordinated response to a major exploit in decentralized finance
• ▪The decline in total value locked from $110 billion to $82 billion in 2025 reflects broader challenges facing DeFi protocols