Standard Chartered Calls Kelp Aftermath DeFi's 'Antifragile Moment'

Standard Chartered's digital assets research team says the DeFi industry's response to the April 18 Kelp DAO bridge exploit could prove to be an "antifragile moment" for the sector, arguing the crisis has accelerated structural fixes that will leave decentralized lending more resilient over the medium term.

In a note published Wednesday titled "DeFi: Bent, not broken," 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.