Aave raises $307 million to cover bad debt after major DeFi hack

11 articles · Updated · The Wall Street Journal · Apr 29

Industry players including Consensys, Circle Ventures, and Justin Sun contributed to the recovery after North Korea-linked hackers caused $230 million in bad debt on Aave.
The attack triggered over $10 billion in withdrawals, temporarily froze assets, and pushed borrowing rates into double digits before liquidity conditions improved and rates normalized.
The incident has fueled debate over DeFi's decentralization and highlighted broader market vulnerabilities, with total value locked in DeFi dropping from $99.5 billion to $83.3 billion since April 18.

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