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Ripple Veteran Slams DeFi Bridge Security
TL;DR
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO Emeritus, warns about security issues in DeFi bridges following a $290 million exploit of Kelp DAO. He highlights a culture prioritizing convenience over robust security in the industry.
Key points
- David Schwartz warns about DeFi bridge security
- Kelp DAO lost $290 million in an exploit
- Industry prioritizes convenience over security
Mentioned in this story
RippleDavid Schwartz
Kelp DAO
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO Emeritus, has a rather chilling warning for the decentralized finance (DeFi) bridging sector after a catastrophic $290 million exploit drained the Kelp DAO ecosystem.
The cryptocurrency veteran has assessed cross-chain systems for Ripple's upcoming RLUSD stablecoin, concluding that the industry suffers from a dangerous culture of prioritizing convenience and rapid scaling over robust security features.
I evaluated a lot of DeFi bridging systems for use by RLUSD. I was almost exclusively focused on the security and risk aspect. One thing I noticed is that most schemes were very well designed and had really strong mechanisms available to protect against exactly the type of attack…
— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) April 20, 2026
Ignoring security issues
Schwartz has found that most bridging systems were actually well-designed to prevent the exact type of attack that struck Kelp DAO.
However, as the Ripple vet noted, bridge providers frequently recommended bypassing their own strongest security mechanisms due to the "operational complexity costs" involved.
"Their sales pitch was that they have the best security features, but they're easy to use and scale, assuming you don't use the security features," Schwartz stated.
The push for simplicity and speed in adding new blockchain networks came with the expectation that operators would simply ignore robust security protocols.
The $290 million wake-up call
Over the weekend, an attacker managed to siphon approximately 116,500 rsETH (roughly $290 million) from the Kelp DAO ecosystem across the Ethereum and Arbitrum networks.
As reported by U.Today, the hack was due to a bug caused by a severe private key compromise on the source chain. The attacker hijacked a legitimately deployed Kelp DAO peer contract, which made it possible for them to initiate a massive withdrawal in a matter of minutes. The exploiter's initial wallets were funded via the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash.
Schwartz has argued that this multi-million dollar disaster was highly preventable. "I have a funny feeling part of the problem is going to be something like KelpDAO choosing not to use key LayerZero security features out of convenience," he noted.
Q&A
What happened with the Kelp DAO ecosystem?
The Kelp DAO ecosystem suffered a catastrophic exploit that resulted in a loss of $290 million.
What did David Schwartz say about DeFi bridge security?
David Schwartz criticized the DeFi bridging sector for prioritizing convenience and rapid scaling over necessary security measures.
How do DeFi bridges typically protect against attacks?
Schwartz noted that most DeFi bridging systems are well-designed with strong mechanisms to protect against specific types of attacks.
