Arbitrum freezes 30,766 ETH linked to the Kelp DAO exploit as fallout from the rsETH hack continues
The Facts
- Arbitrum’s Security Council froze 30,766 ETH worth about $71 million from an address linked to the Kelp DAO exploiter.
- Arbitrum said the frozen funds were moved into an intermediary wallet and would require further governance action to be accessed.
- The Kelp DAO exploit involved about 116,500 rsETH, valued at roughly $290 million to $293 million.
- The exploit targeted Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered cross-chain bridge or messaging infrastructure rather than Kelp DAO’s core smart contracts.
- Kelp DAO and LayerZero are publicly disputing responsibility for the exploit.
- LayerZero said its preliminary assessment points to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, including the TraderTraitor subunit, as the likely attacker.
- LayerZero said the incident was isolated to Kelp DAO’s rsETH-related setup and did not affect other applications or assets using LayerZero.
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Context
What exactly did Arbitrum do?
Arbitrum said its Security Council seized 30,766 ETH tied to the exploiter on Arbitrum One and placed the assets into a frozen intermediary wallet. The network said the action was taken with input from law enforcement and did not disrupt users or applications CoinDesk,crypto.news.
What was stolen in the Kelp DAO exploit?
Reports say attackers drained about 116,500 rsETH, a liquid restaking token, with the loss valued at roughly $290 million to $293 million Infosecurity Magazi…,Decrypt,Crypto Briefing.
Why are Kelp DAO and LayerZero blaming each other?
LayerZero has argued the exploit was enabled by Kelp DAO’s single-verifier configuration, while Kelp DAO has said the compromised verifier network was part of LayerZero’s infrastructure and that the setup reflected LayerZero’s documented defaults FinanceFeeds,CoinDesk,Crypto News Flash.
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Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (45)
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BlockonomiNorth Korean Hackers Exploit Cross-Chain Vulnerability in $2...
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DecryptLayerZero Pins $292M KelpDAO Bridge Hack on North Korea's La...
The Coin RepublicCrypto Hack: Kelp DAO $290M Exploit Linked to Verifier Flaw ...
Crypto BriefingLayerZero says North Korean Lazarus Group behind $292M Kelp ...
Bitcoinist.comLayerZero Breaks Silence On $290M KelpDAO Crypto Exploit
cryptonews.comLayerZero Says Lazarus Group Likely Behind Kelp DAO Exploit
DeFi PlanetKelpDAO $290M Exploit in RPC Attack Raises Concerns Over Cro...
NullTXLayerZero Blames KelpDAO for $290 Million Hack, Citing Possi...
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Bitcoin SistemiLayerZero Team Explains the Reason Behind the Recent $290 Mi...
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CoinDeskLayerZero blames Kelp's setup for $290 million exploit, attr...
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