Aave Rises as rsETH Report Outlines Exploit Risks

Aave (AAVE) rose about 0.62% in the past 24 hours to around $90.81, after the protocol released an rsETH incident report that clarifies potential exposure paths. The gain was smaller than the broader market move, which was up more than 2%, but it steadied sentiment around Aave’s DeFi lending system. The rsETH issue traces to an exploit in Kelp’s LayerZero bridge. On April 18, an attacker reportedly used a configuration flaw to forge a transaction and drain over 116,000 rsETH. A large share of those funds were deposited into Aave V3 across multiple networks, after which the attacker borrowed other assets worth nearly $193 million in WETH and wstETH. Aave’s risk team responded quickly: affected reserves were frozen and interest rates were adjusted to limit further damage. The report outlines two potential bad-debt outcomes: one where losses are shared across all rsETH holders (estimated bad debt around $123.7M), and another where losses are concentrated in specific Layer 2 networks (bad debt potentially above $230M and heavier reserve impact). Despite the scenario modeling, Aave stated its core smart contracts were not directly breached. It also cited the Aave DAO treasury of roughly $181M and recurring annual revenue as a buffer, while service providers continue working on recovery options. Price-wise, traders watched technical levels: resistance sits near $95–$100, support near $85. A decisive move in BTC above $75,000 would likely support Aave, while a break below $85 could pressure it toward ~$80.