The hacker behind the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit has managed to launder $220 million of the stolen funds. Roughly $71 million remains locked on the Arbitrum network, and court hearings will decide whether any of that money can be recovered.
The $293 Million Exploit
Kelp DAO, a decentralized finance protocol, suffered a major breach earlier this year. Attackers drained about $293 million from the platform’s smart contracts. The heist quickly became one of the larger crypto thefts of 2025.
Laundering $220 Million
Investigators tracking the stolen crypto say the hacker has now moved the bulk of the funds through various mixers and cross-chain bridges. The $220 million successfully laundered means it’s likely out of reach for law enforcement. The remaining $71 million was caught mid-transfer on Arbitrum, a layer-2 scaling network.
The $71 Million Frozen on Arbitrum
Arbitrum’s validators froze those funds shortly after the exploit was detected. That action effectively trapped the money on the chain. But the freeze isn’t permanent — it’s a holding pattern while legal proceedings get underway.
Court Hearings Ahead
The next step is a series of court hearings that will determine the fate of the frozen $71 million. Judges will weigh arguments from the Kelp DAO team, Arbitrum’s operators, and potentially the hacker, if they choose to appear. No date has been set yet for the first hearing, and it’s unclear how long the process could take.
For now, the $220 million is gone. The $71 million sits in limbo, held by Arbitrum, waiting on a judge’s decision. The outcome could set a precedent for how frozen crypto is handled in cross-chain disputes.
