LayerZero Issues Public Apology Friday, Admits Fault in 1/1 DVN Setup for $292M Kelp DAO Exploit

According to LayerZero’s official blog post, the protocol issued a public apology on Friday for its handling of the April 18 exploit that drained roughly $292 million in rsETH from Kelp DAO’s bridge. LayerZero acknowledged it made a mistake by allowing its Decentralized Verifier Network to serve as the sole verifier for high-value transactions, a significant concession after initially blaming Kelp DAO’s configuration choices. The apology marks a tonal shift from LayerZero’s earlier statement that the protocol “functioned exactly as intended.” Following the incident, major protocols have migrated their cross-chain infrastructure away from LayerZero; Kelp DAO announced its departure earlier this week, and Solv Protocol subsequently moved over $700 million in tokenized bitcoin to Chainlink’s CCIP, citing security concerns.