The $292M KelpDAO Bridge Hack: Why the Audit Wasn't the Problem
The KelpDAO bridge hack highlights the limitations of audits and the impact of social engineering on security.
On April 18, 2026, approximately 116,500 rsETH, worth around $292 million, was drained from KelpDAO's cross-chain bridge built on LayerZero. This incident marks the largest DeFi hack of the year, with the root cause being a social engineering attack rather than a code vulnerability. KelpDAO managed to freeze the system 46 minutes after the breach, preventing further losses.