Aave survived $8.45B in withdrawals, but risk questions remain Aave handled $8.45 billion in withdrawals without freezing funds, but the episode raised fresh questions about hidden risks in DeFi lending.
A stress test that showed both strengths and weaknesses When large sums leave a financial system quickly, hidden weaknesses often become visible
In traditional finance, such situations often lead to emergency lending programs, withdrawal limits or government-backed bailouts. Decentralized finance (DeFi) works differently. Aave is one of crypto’s biggest lending platforms.
In April 2026, users withdrew about $8.45 billion from the protocol after the KelpDAO rsETH bridge exploit raised concerns across DeFi markets. Aave’s own smart contracts were not compromised. The pressure came from an external rsETH bridge incident that affected Aave through collateral, borrowing and liquidity channels.