Aave founder Stani Kulechov said in Paris that V3 stayed operational through the record outflow, as the protocol pushes ahead with a V4 risk-management overhaul after the KelpDAO-linked shock.
Aave faced as much as $8.45 billion in deposit withdrawals within 48 hours after KelpDAO’s LayerZero-based bridge was hit for $292 million in April, marking what CoinDesk described as the largest DeFi outflow to date and underscoring how losses at one connected protocol can spread quickly across decentralized finance. Speaking at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris last week, Aave founder Stani Kulechov defended the protocol’s handling of the crisis and said Aave remained operational through the stress. Independent data said the exploit left about $123.7 million in wETH bad debt on Aave V3. Kulechov said Aave V3 proved resilient, though the protocol’s survival relied on a $300 million emergency rescue, according to the report. Aave had previously disclosed that Aave DAO allocated 25,000 ETH and Kulechov added 5,000 ETH, and the protocol is planning a V4 risk-management overhaul aimed at strengthening defenses against similar cross-protocol shocks.