As concerns about the DeFi ecosystem increase following the KelpDAO-related rsETH crisis, Standard Chartered has also assessed the hack and its consequences.
Banking giant Standard Chartered said the DeFi ecosystem remains strong despite the KelpDAO attack.
According to The Block, Standard Chartered states that despite the significant impact of the KelpDAO rsETH attack on the market, the DeFi ecosystem remains strong.
A report written by Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick acknowledged that the $292 million rsETH attack on April 19 exposed structural risks in DeFi and led to withdrawals of approximately $17 billion from Aave within three days.
“However, despite all the negativity, a DeFi industry coalition led by Stani Kulechov later raised more than $300 million for a collective response.”
Aave DAO has received public support from Arbitrum (ARB), Consensys, Joseph Lubin, Mantle (MNT) and Lido.”
Kendrick concluded that rather than hindering the growth of DeFi, the hack could actually spur its development by demonstrating the unity of the sector.
An analyst from Standard Chartered recently stated that they expect the market capitalization of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) to reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028, up from $35 billion in October 2025, and that this forecast is dependent on continued growth in DeFi banking and stablecoin liquidity.
Therefore, the bank believes that this crisis is significant, even beyond Aave or rsETH. According to the bank, recent events do not refute this statement, but rather put it to the strongest test and strengthen it.
*This is not investment advice.