The biggest DeFi heist of 2026, hackers easily took advantage of Aave

By: rootdata|2026/04/19 09:12:22
0
Share
copy

Author: Xiao Bing, Shenchao TechFlow

On the evening of April 18 at 17:35 (UTC), a wallet that had laundered money through Tornado Cash sent a cross-chain message to the LayerZero EndpointV2 contract.

The message's meaning was simple: a user on a certain chain wanted to transfer rsETH back to the Ethereum mainnet. LayerZero faithfully conveyed the instruction according to the protocol design. The bridging contract deployed by Kelp DAO on the mainnet also executed the release faithfully as designed.

116,500 rsETH, worth approximately $292 million at the time, was transferred in a single transaction to an address controlled by the attacker.

The problem is that no one on the other chain had ever deposited this rsETH. This "cross-chain request" was fabricated out of thin air; LayerZero believed it, and Kelp's bridge believed it.

Forty-six minutes later, Kelp's emergency multi-signature finally hit the pause button. By this time, the attacker had already completed the latter half of the action, using the stolen, essentially uncollateralized rsETH to collateralize in Aave V3, borrowing approximately $236 million worth of wETH.

This is the largest DeFi theft of 2026 so far, surpassing the Drift protocol, which was attacked by North Korean hackers on April 1 by several million dollars, but what truly sends chills down the spine of the industry is not just the amount.

How the Attack Happened: Three Bets from 17:35 to 18:28

Let's restore the timeline.

17:35 UTC, the first success. The attacker called the lzReceive function on the LayerZero EndpointV2 contract, and a wallet funded by Tornado Cash sent a fabricated cross-chain data packet to Kelp's bridging contract. The contract verification passed, and 116,500 rsETH was released to the attacker's address. A single transaction. Clean.

18:21 UTC, Kelp's emergency pause multi-signature froze the core rsETH contracts on the mainnet and multiple L2s. 46 minutes after the attack occurred.

18:26 and 18:28 UTC, the attacker initiated two more attempts, each time attempting to withdraw 40,000 rsETH (approximately $10 million) with a LayerZero data packet. Both were reverted; the contract had already been frozen, but the attacker was clearly still trying to siphon off the remaining liquidity.

From the first success to Kelp's public statement, nearly three hours elapsed.

Kelp's first X post was not sent until 20:10 UTC, and the wording was very restrained: suspicious cross-chain activity involving rsETH was detected, the rsETH contracts on the mainnet and multiple L2s had been paused, and they were collaborating with LayerZero, Unichain, auditors, and external security experts for root cause analysis.

However, earlier than the official statement, ZachXBT, an on-chain detective, raised the alarm in his Telegram channel before 3 PM Eastern Time, listing six wallet addresses related to the theft and pointing out that the attack wallet had prepared funds through Tornado Cash before starting its actions. He did not name Kelp DAO, but on-chain analysts connected the addresses in just a few hours.

This was a **premeditated operation executed

You may also like

Concerns Behind the Binance Customer Service Controversy

As the user base expands to the scale of Binance today, relying on the personal efforts of the founder and a few employees to fill process gaps has become an unsustainable arrangement.

Mergers and acquisitions in the cryptocurrency market are exceptionally active

Behind the rise in mergers and acquisitions is a sluggish financing market, declining project valuations, and increased pressure for startup teams to exit. However, it also indicates that the cryptocurrency industry has not lost its capital vitality, but is completing resource reorganization in anot...

SpaceX Stock Prediction After the IPO: Can SPCX Reach $200 Before QQQ Inclusion?

SpaceX stock has become one of the hottest trades of 2026. Can SPCX reach $200 before QQQ inclusion? Discover the latest SpaceX stock prediction, analyst targets, Bitcoin exposure, and the key catalysts that could move SpaceX stock after its historic IPO.

Congratulations to Carl Moon on His Historic Ferrari Challenge Le Mans Podium Triumph

Crypto influencer and racing enthusiast Carl Moon finished third in the Ferrari Challenge Le Mans Coppa Shell class, marking his best result of the year. As his racing partner and sponsor, WEEX celebrates this remarkable achievement and continues to lead crypto’s journey beyond boundaries, uniting the innovation of digital assets with the passion of motorsport. 

A16Z: The sun bears witness, SpaceX is worth 7.5 trillion

A deep analysis of Musk's ultimate grand vision: how SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla are deeply intertwined, using space AI data centers and Starships to gradually turn the sci-fi fantasies of Mars colonization and multi-planetary civilization into reality.

The stablecoin positioning battle escalates: When compliance is just a ticket to entry, will USD1 become the biggest winner?

How does the GENIUS Act reshape the stablecoin landscape?

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more
iconiconiconiconiconiconicon
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com