Kelp DAO hit for $292M, wrapped ether stranded across 20 chains

The Kelp DAO protocol, which lets users restake ETH to earn additional yield, suffered what appears to be the single largest crypto exploit of 2026 so far. Approximately $292 million in wrapped ether (wETH) was drained via the LayerZero bridge layer that Kelp uses to issue rsETH across multiple networks. The attack stranded collateral on roughly 20 chains, because the bridge receipts no longer match real collateral. CoinDesk's reporting frames the event as systemic for the restaking sector, which has grown to over $18B TVL. Protocols that accepted rsETH as collateral paused withdrawals pending forensics.