A US law firm has gone to court to block any transfer of frozen Ethereum linked to the Kelp protocol exploit. Gerstein Harrow filed the legal action this week, seeking a court order to keep the ETH locked down until a judge can determine rightful ownership. The case is the latest in a series of similar attempts by the firm to assert victim ownership over stolen cryptocurrency that ends up frozen on platforms.
Frozen ETH from the Kelp exploit
The frozen Ethereum at the center of the suit was stolen during the Kelp protocol exploit and later frozen by platforms that detected the stolen funds. Gerstein Harrow is representing clients who say those ETH belong to them, not to the hackers or any intermediary. The lawsuit asks the court to prevent any transfer of the assets while ownership is sorted out.
Following a known playbook
This isn't a new strategy for Gerstein Harrow. The firm has previously filed similar cases claiming client ownership rights to cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea's DPRK and subsequently frozen by crypto platforms. In those earlier suits, the firm argued that victims of theft — not the state-sponsored hackers or the platforms holding the funds — have the stronger legal claim. The Kelp case mirrors that approach, this time focused on a different exploit but the same core question: who gets the frozen crypto?
Gerstein Harrow's filing puts the platforms holding the frozen ETH on notice that any transfer could be contested. The court will have to weigh the clients' ownership claims against any arguments from the platforms or other parties. No hearing has been scheduled yet. For now, the Ethereum remains in limbo, and the legal fight over who gets it is just getting started.
