Kelp DAO protocol
Overview
Kelp DAO is a liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum that allows users to deposit Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) to mint rsETH, a Liquid Restaking Token (LRT). rsETH represents the user's underlying assets plus restaked security via EigenLayer, enabling participation in DeFi while earning restaking rewards. On 2026-04-18, Kelp DAO's LayerZero-powered bridge was exploited for roughly $292M (about 116,500 rsETH), the largest DeFi hack of 2026; the attacker exploited a 1-of-1 DVN verification setup to drain rsETH across 20+ chains. The team paused contracts and rsETH temporarily lost part of its backing, with Aave, SparkLend and Fluid freezing their rsETH markets during recovery.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, Kelp DAO connects to 44 tracked entities, most strongly to Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 10 of 44 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
deployed_on | Ethereum | 95% |
deployed_on | Arbitrum | 95% |
deployed_on | Base | 95% |
deployed_on | Optimism | 95% |
provides_lrt_for | EigenLayer | 95% |
restakes_on | EigenLayer | 95% |
deployed_on | zkSync Era | 95% |
deployed_on | Linea | 95% |
deployed_on | Scroll | 95% |
deployed_on | Blast | 95% |
Frequently asked questions
What is Kelp DAO?
Kelp DAO is a protocol that issues rsETH, a Liquid Restaking Token backed by deposited Liquid Staking Tokens, to facilitate restaking through EigenLayer.
How does rsETH differ from traditional LSTs or LRTs?
rsETH is an LRT that not only accrues staking yield from the underlying LSTs but also receives additional rewards from restaking services provided to EigenLayer Actively Validated Services (AVSs).
What are the primary risks associated with using Kelp DAO?
Risks include smart contract vulnerabilities, slashing penalties from EigenLayer if an operator misbehaves, and potential de-pegging of rsETH from its underlying value.
What is Kelp DAO connected to?
In the DeFi Intel knowledge graph, Kelp DAO is linked to 44 other tracked entities, most strongly to Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base.
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