On April 18th, KelpDAO was hacked.

It's not the kind of "minor injury or pain" vulnerability; it was directly a face-riding output—
the attacker minted 116k rsETH out of thin air, threw it into Aave, and borrowed $190 million.
Aave's bad debt, conservatively estimated at $123 million, and more broadly at $230 million.
TVL evaporated by $6.6 billion in one day.
Did you think it was just another project going to zero?
No.
In the next 48 hours, DeFi staged the most daring move in crypto history:
Lido said: I will supply 2,500 stETH.
Mantle said: I will borrow 30,000 ETH.
Aave founder Stani personally put up 5,000 ETH.
Let's review what happened.
KelpDAO's bridging contract was attacked, and rsETH was minted out of thin air.
These "fake coins" entered Aave, borrowing real money.
Aave's books showed bad debt, and the rsETH gap was there.
If not replenished:
- Aave depositors can't get their money back.
- Trust in the entire LRT track collapses.
- Next, a chain of liquidations begins, dominoes falling one after another.
So Stani stepped up.
"I donate 5,000 ETH to DeFi United."*
What is DeFi United?
It's not a foundation, not a DAO, but a temporary "rescue team" formed by top protocols.
Lido, Mantle, Aave... usually each king on their own, today sitting at one table.
It’s like a mafia movie meeting of gang leaders:
"This time, everyone covers the hole."
Is this warmth, or a tactic?
You say this is the "DeFi community spirit"?
I believe it.
But I also want to say:
They are not saving Kelp; they are saving themselves.
Think about it, if the rsETH gap isn't filled—
Aave becomes a bad debt bank, who dares to deposit money?
Lido’s stETH on Aave is a core collateral, liquidity is locked, and Lido is halved.
Mantle? It’s desperately pushing its ecosystem, and a collapse of LRT now would wipe out market confidence.
So this is not charity.
It’s a collective self-rescue by leading players in the ecosystem.
Why is this event worth your attention?
Because if this rescue succeeds, DeFi will enter a new phase:
- Protocols will no longer just compete but will "mutually backstop."
- A single vulnerability will no longer mean a chain-wide collapse, because the big players will sit down and talk.
- Bad debt can be internally absorbed by the "protocol alliance," rather than making users pay.