Investors withdrew over $13 billion from DeFi protocols within a two-day period., 2026/04/20 10:48:16

The total value of assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols decreased by $13.21 billion over the weekend, dropping from $99.497 billion to $86.286 billion, according to analysts at Lookonchain.

The lending protocol Aave was hit the hardest, with $8.45 billion withdrawn in just two days. The total value locked (TVL) on the platform fell to $17.947 billion, effectively stripping the platform of liquidity. Consequently, the protocol lost its position as a leader among the largest projects in the DeFi sector.

As an illustration, analysts reference the transaction data of a significant token holder who previously purchased 163,405 ETH for $440 million and 4,000 cbBTC for $296 million on Aave. Over the past weekend, this individual withdrew 98,032 wstETH valued at $272 million and 3,000 cbBTC worth $221.6 million from the platform. The tokens rsETH, associated with Kelp, could not be withdrawn, prompting the investor to exchange 7,438 aEthWETH ($16.8 million) for 1,930 stETH and 5,272 ETH, resulting in a loss of approximately 237 ETH ($540,000). Following these transactions, the investor retained around 10,000 ETH valued at $22.8 million on the platform.

The outflow of funds occurred amid an attack on the Kelp cryptocurrency bridge, during which attackers stole tokens worth $292 million. The hackers opened credit lines on several platforms using collateral of non-existent coins. The largest loan was taken out on Aave, amounting to nearly $200 million, which resulted in the emergence of unsecured debt on the platform for the same amount.

Concurrently, investors began to sell off AAVE governance tokens, causing the price of the coin to drop by 20% at one point. As of Monday morning, the token is trading at $92.33. 

According to data from DeFiLlama, the lending pools for USDT and USDC in Aave V3 are currently at full capacity. From the USDT pool, which has a total of $2.87 billion, only $2,540 can be withdrawn. More than $5.1 billion in stablecoins will only be available for withdrawal after new liquidity is added or loans are repaid. 

The attack on Kelp occurred on Saturday, April 18, with the latest reports indicating that the damage amounted to $293 million. Hackers stole 116,500 Kelp DAO Restaked ETH (rsETH) tokens from the LayerZero bridge utilized by Kelp DAO. Subsequently, the attackers used these tokens as collateral in Aave V3 to secure loans in wETH. 

The platform treated the collateral as legitimate tokens on Kelp DAO, but in reality, the coins were already in the possession of the hackers. Immediately following the reports of the incident involving Kelp, Aave froze the rsETH markets on V3 and V4. However, the collateral taken by the hackers remains open.

According to Lookonchain, among the largest “whales” withdrawing funds from Aave were the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC ($431 million) and the investment firm Abraxas Capital ($392 million).