A major exploit has hit KelpDAO, with attackers draining approximately $290 million in an incident linked to its rsETH configuration. Early findings point to a highly coordinated operation, with indicators suggesting involvement from the Lazarus Group, a state-backed hacking unit often tied to large-scale crypto breaches.
The attack has drawn attention across the industry, not for a flaw in core protocol design, but for how infrastructure choices at the application level can introduce critical vulnerabilities.
Single verifier risk happens when a cross-chain system relies on just one entity to approve transactions, creating a dangerous single point of failure. If that verifier is compromised, attackers can mint fake assets or steal locked funds, which is why the industry is moving toward multi-verifier setups and more trust-minimized systems for better security.
— LayerZero (@LayerZero_Core) April 20, 2026
RPC manipulation bypasses verification layer
The breach targeted the RPC infrastructure used by a Decentralized Verifier Network within the LayerZero ecosystem. Attackers reportedly compromised specific RPC nodes and used them to feed manipulated data into the verification process.
By combining this with distributed denial-of-service pressure on healthy nodes, the attackers forced the system to rely on the compromised endpoints. This allowed false transaction data to be validated, enabling unauthorized asset movements.
The exploit did not involve private key compromise or a direct protocol failure. Instead, it relied on infrastructure-level manipulation, highlighting a more advanced attack vector that blends network disruption with data spoofing.
Single verifier setup leaves the system exposed
The impact was contained to KelpDAO’s rsETH due to its use of a single verifier configuration. This meant there was no secondary validation layer to detect or reject forged messages.
Security models in cross-chain systems typically rely on multiple independent verifiers to prevent this exact scenario. Without redundancy, the system effectively had a single point of failure. Developers have since reiterated the need for multi-verifier setups to reduce risk. Systems using diversified verification layers were not affected, reinforcing the importance of distributed trust in cross-chain architecture.
Meanwhile, Lista DAO launched Smart Lending 1.1, introducing a redesigned interface and new analytics tools aimed at improving transparency and user control across its lending ecosystem.
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