The cryptocurrency ecosystem has united leading DeFi projects to overcome the collateral deficit of the rsETH token in the Aave protocol, which arose after the exploit of the KelpDAO restaking protocol on April 18, 2026. To tackle this crisis, the DeFi United initiative has been launched, which has already attracted significant resources and support from key market participants.
This is reported by Finway
Collaboration of Leading Projects to Restore rsETH
Players such as Lido DAO, Golem Foundation, EtherFi, and other market participants have joined efforts to restore the collateral for rsETH. Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced his personal contribution of 5,000 ETH. Among the first solutions is a proposal from Lido DAO to allocate up to 2,500 stETH to a special fund. Other participants are also confirming their commitments, actively discussing support models and contribution amounts.
“In a statement, the team emphasized that collaboration among ecosystem participants is critical to minimizing user losses.”
It is noted that a number of commitments regarding contributions have already been agreed upon; however, part of the assistance depends on the final formation of special funds and the agreement of participation terms.
Deficit Volumes and Coverage Status
Analysts estimate the collateral deficit for the rsETH token at approximately 112,000 rsETH, which is equivalent to about $250 million at the current exchange rate. Confirmed contributions and already frozen funds significantly reduce this gap. Aave’s potentially available resources are estimated at $110 million. However, even considering the collected assets, the deficit may remain within $60–70 million, and part of the promised contributions remains conditional—specifically, Lido DAO’s participation depends on the final formation of the fund.
KelpDAO reported that the initial deficit was 163,200 ETH, of which 40,300 rsETH (approximately 43,000 ETH) has already been restored, while another 30,700 ETH has been locked by the Arbitrum Security Council. Thus, the remaining deficit amounts to about 89,500 ETH. Confirmed commitments from Mantle, Stani Kulechov, EtherFi, Lido, and Golem Foundation total 43,500 ETH, while other contributions are still in the process of being agreed upon.
According to LlamaRisk data, the incident was caused by a vulnerability in the bridge through LayerZero, which allowed an attacker to spoof an incoming packet and withdraw 116,500 rsETH without burning assets on the originating network. Total losses from the attack are estimated at approximately $290 million. Work on recovery continues, and the DeFi United initiative remains one of the key tools for overcoming the consequences of this crisis.