What The Kelp DAO’s $292 Million Hack Means For XRP Holders Earning Yield

A market expert has outlined a major security incident that occurred last weekend, explaining its implications for XRP holders earning yield. On Saturday, April 18, an attacker exploited the LayerZero-powered bridge of Kelp DAO, draining a staggering $292 million in tokens from the liquid staking protocol. So far, the incident marks the largest DeFi hack of 2026, triggering emergency responses across multiple lending platforms. 

Kelp DAO Hack Linked To Broader Cross-Chain Risks

Market expert Iso Ledger has shared updates on the recent Kelp DAO hack, describing it as a major security breach that exposed risks across multiple DeFi platforms. In his post on X, he stated that Kelp DAO lost $292 million in just 46 minutes. He said the attacker funded a Tornado Cash wallet around 10 hours before the exploit began. Then he called IzRecieve, a core function in LayerZero’s EndpointV2 contract.  

Iso Ledger reported that the single call triggered Kelp DAO’s bridge to release 116,500 rsETH, worth $292 million, directly to the attacker’s wallet. He added that the amount represented 18% of the token’s circulating supply. The expert also stated that the attacker had immediately used the stolen rsETH as collateral on Aave V3 to borrow ETH, creating bad debt that the DeFi protocol would now need to absorb. 

Notably, Iso Ledger stated that Aave has responded immediately by freezing the rsETH markets on both V3 and V4. He also noted that the price of Aave had fallen by a staggering 10%, adding that one bridge exploit had impacted three protocols simultaneously. 

Following the devastating hack, Kelp DAO and Kernel DAO, a multi-chain restaking ecosystem, made no public statements for 46 minutes as the incident unfolded. The delay had raised major concerns about protocol response times during live exploits. 

Expert Warns XRP Holders About FXRP And Bridge Dependency

In his post, Iso Ledger said that the recent Kelp DAO hack is relevant to XRP holders seeking yield opportunities through wrapped asset products. He pointed to FXRP, the wrapped XRP launched on the Flare Network. He stated that the token is deployed as a LayerZero Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) according to Flare developer documentation. 

This means that FXRP has the same bridge standard, cross-chain architecture, and IzRecieve call that were exploited by Kelp DAO attackers and led to the $292 million drain. The analyst compares XRP to Kelp DAO, presenting his remarks as a warning about external bridge dependency. 

Iso Ledger also explained that the latest attack shows why the ecosystem is waiting for XLS-66D, a native lending protocol built directly into the XRP Ledger. He stated that this protocol would allow the altcoin to remain on-chain without needing an external contract. He also said the attack vector seen in the Kelp DAO exploit would never exist if the token never leaves the chain it was created on.