DeFi TVL Slides 14% to $148B Since KelpDAO's $292M Exploit on April 18

According to The Block, total value locked across DeFi categories has declined roughly 14% since mid-April, falling from approximately $172 billion to $148 billion. The decline coincides with KelpDAO's bridge exploit on April 18, when attackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group stole approximately $292 million (116,500 rsETH) by compromising off-chain infrastructure and manipulating RPC nodes rather than exploiting a smart contract vulnerability.

Lending, the largest DeFi category, has seen the steepest drawdown, declining from approximately $53 billion to $40 billion over the period. Persistent outflows over five weeks suggest broader withdrawal of marginal capital rather than a technical re-rating of specific protocols.