Aave deploys $300M for DeFi United to rescue the ecosystem: Joining forces with Consensys, Lido, and EtherFi to fill the largest hole in history

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On April 18, Kelp DAO was hacked, resulting in $292 million in bad debt from rsETH. Aave urgently mobilized the entire ecosystem to respond—as of April 27, the "DeFi United" rescue plan has secured over $303 million in commitments. Dozens of institutions, including Consensys, Lido, EtherFi, and Mantle, have joined through donations, deposits, and credit lines, marking a rare cross-institutional collaboration in the history of DeFi. (Previous coverage: Aave governance civil war ends: AWW proposal overwhelmingly passes "All Product Revenue to DAO," $AAVE becomes the sole core asset) (Background: AAVE infighting intensifies: Second-largest whale liquidates position with $10 million loss, price drops 20% in a single week) $300 million is not an astronomical figure, but for a decentralized lending market that relies on smart contract execution and lacks a central bank backstop, a self-rescue operation of this scale is almost unprecedented. According to the official DeFi United website, as of April 27, the entire rescue plan has accumulated over $303 million in committed funds—not yet cash in hand, but the upper limit that various parties are willing to contribute. More importantly, this money comes from over a dozen competing protocols and institutions that rarely sit at the same table. At 1:35 AM Taipei time on April 19, the attacker targeted Kelp DAO's LayerZero cross-chain bridge, draining 116,500 rsETH from the Ethereum mainnet escrow contract, with a market value of approximately $292 million at the time. The attack method was not complex, but the destructive power was immense: the attacker minted rsETH without any asset backing, then used these "air" tokens to borrow real ETH from Aave, leaving behind a massive black hole of bad debt. The price of rsETH plummeted, impacting all users holding rsETH positions on Aave. Aave's lending mechanism turned this hole from a Kelp DAO problem into a systemic risk for the entire platform. After the attack, Aave founder Stani Kulechov did not wait for the governance proposal process to complete. According to Consensys, he immediately contacted Consensys and other ecosystem participants to gauge their willingness to rescue before the on-chain governance process. Consensys and its founder Joseph Lubin ultimately agreed to provide up to 30,000 ETH in financial support. Lubin stated in an announcement: "The Ethereum ecosystem has always shown its best side when it is needed most. DeFi United is exactly that moment—a broad, coordinated response aimed at protecting users and strengthening the infrastructure we have built together." Sharplink played the role of strategic advisor in this coordination. Participants with publicly committed amounts include: – Consensys + Joseph Lubin: Up to 30,000 ETH – Mantle: 30,000 ETH credit line – EtherFi: Under discussion, up to 5,000 ETH – Lido: Governance proposal submitted for 2,500 stETH – Compound: Grant proposal submitted for 3,000 ETH – Renzo: Over $10 million from the treasury – Babylon Foundation: 3 million USDT deposit – Circle Ventures: Purchased AAVE tokens (amount undisclosed) – Avalanche Foundation, Solana Foundation, Justin Sun: Participated, amounts undisclosed Additionally, Ethena, LayerZero, Frax Finance, Ink Foundation, and Tyro have confirmed their participation, but specific figures have not been disclosed. An Aave Labs spokesperson told CoinDesk: "These are long-term ecosystem partners of Aave; Consensys, Sharplink, and other teams have remained in close contact throughout the process." The structure of this rescue fund is not uniform, reflecting the different risk calculations of various participants. Some chose direct donations or grants—the cleanest way, but meaning the money is truly given away; some chose deposits, putting funds into Aave's liquidity pool, which in theory can be withdrawn; others provided credit lines, meaning the money remains in their own pockets and is only used if truly needed. These three methods encouraged more institutions to participate, but they also discounted the actual significance of the "$300 million" figure—commitments do not equal actual funds in place. Meanwhile, Aave is working on another front: pushing to unlock ETH currently frozen on Arbitrum to compensate affected rsETH holders. This path requires approval from Arbitrum governance, and the timeline remains uncertain. An Aave Labs spokesperson put it bluntly: "Many participants have deep ties to DeFi, whether through infrastructure, capital, or user gateways, and have a direct interest in ensuring the market functions normally." In other words, this is

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