Following the KelpDAO exploit on April 18, Aave has introduced the “DeFi United” initiative, a coordinated effort to cover the rsETH (Kelp DAO restaking token) deficit. The official announcement confirms that firm commitments already exist from various ecosystem players, with Lido Finance as the first public participant.
Lido will commit up to 2,500 stETH (approximately $5.7 million) to mitigate a total deficit exceeding 100,000 ETH. Aave service providers have been leading the DeFi United effort to restore rsETH's backing since the April 18 incident. “We believe ecosystem collaboration matters most in moments like this, and our priority is achieving the strongest possible available outcome for users,” Aave stated.
This initiative stands out for its focus on protecting systemic liquidity. Without a full rescue, depositors in vaults like EarnETH could face losses of up to 9,000 ETH. To facilitate recovery, Aave preemptively paused rsETH reserves on key networks such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, and Linea, preventing further exposure while contributions from other service providers are finalized.
This step toward collaborative governance seeks to restore asset parity and user trust. The next stage will involve official voting on the support proposals and onboarding new allies to the relief fund.
