Ethereum Foundation developer and researcher Barnabe Monnot noted that recent cryptocurrency hacks highlight Ethereum and many crypto assets as larger targets.
Last weekend, the cryptocurrency market was shaken by news of a vulnerability in the KelpDAO protocol. Kelp’s bridge was attacked, resulting in losses of up to $293 million. The attacker exploited stolen rsETH—a widely used liquidity restaking token in DeFi—as collateral to borrow funds on lending platforms, sparking widespread concern across the cryptocurrency market.
Attackers stole approximately 116,500 rsETH, a token issued by Kelp DAO representing "restaking." Ethereum The attackers targeted a bridge built on LayerZero, a system enabling communication between different blockchains. Estimated total losses amount to around $293 million, making it the largest DeFi exploit incident of 2026.
This attack simultaneously impacted cross-chain infrastructure, restaking models, and lending markets, and is another incident in a recent series of similar events.
This hack occurred during an unusually turbulent period for DeFi—especially this month. On April 1, the Solana-based perpetuals protocol Drift suffered an attack, losing approximately $285 million; in the weeks that followed, at least a dozen smaller protocols were targeted, including CoW Swap, Zerion, Rhea Finance, and Silo Finance.
Hacker attacks highlight Ethereum's broader goals
Barnabé Monnot, a developer and researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, recently stated on Twitter that recent cyberattacks serve as a reminder to Ethereum and other crypto assets alike about what the most important goal should be in the future. He emphasized that Ethereum’s objective should be not only to function as a transport layer but also to become an issuer.
These types of hacking attacks remind us that for many assets, the goal should be to make Ethereum not just a transport layer, but also an issuance ledger.
— barnabe.eth (@barnabemonnot)April 20, 2026
Proof of validity and fast finality are crucial for eliminating overall latency and competing with faster alternatives.
Mono's famous proof of validity and fast finality are crucial for eliminating full latency and competing with faster alternatives, and Ethereum is steadily moving toward this vision.
Over the past year, Ethereum announced a renewed focus on three strategic initiatives: scaling the L1 layer, scaling the blob layer, and improving the user experience.
Faster confirmation speeds have long been considered one of the key requirements for improving interoperability within the Ethereum ecosystem. The current focus is on clear, measurable protocol metrics to reduce latency and costs while enhancing security and trustlessness.