Standard Chartered Sees Kelp Aftermath as Catalyst for DeFi Growth

Standard Chartered's digital assets research team has published a report analyzing the impact of the Kelp DAO bridge exploit on the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry.

The report argues that the crisis has accelerated structural fixes and improvements in resilience, making DeFi stronger rather than weaker. The bank's Global Head of Digital Assets Research Geoff Kendrick wrote that the $292 million theft and its knock-on effects on Aave have not derailed the bank's longer-term thesis on DeFi growth.

Standard Chartered is maintaining its projection that tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) will reach a $2 trillion market cap by the end of 2028, up from roughly $35 billion in October 2025. Kendrick pointed to two specific developments that should reduce reliance on bridges: Aave V4 and the Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ).

Aave's vulnerability to a classic 'bank run' has been addressed with the help of the DeFi United coalition, which has now committed more than $300 million to restore rsETH's backing ratio and execute controlled liquidations of the exploiter's remaining positions. The report concludes that the recent DeFi coalition and longer-term structural solutions both point to greater DeFi resilience going forward.