A $300 million bond demand is now at the center of a legal fight over 30,766 Ethereum frozen in the wake of April’s Kelp DAO hack — and a New York court will decide whether the funds stay locked or flow to victims.
DeFi Protocol Takes Legal ActionIf the court won’t act immediately, Aave’s lawyers want the law firm behind the notice — Gerstein Harrow LLP — to post a $300 million bond just to keep the freeze in place. No hearing date has been scheduled. A judge has not yet ruled.
Aave LLC has filed an emergency motion to vacate a restraining notice served on Arbitrum DAO on May 1, 2026 that attempts to seize approximately $71 million in ETH belonging to victims of the April 18 exploit.
Aave’s legal team pushed back hard. A thief, they said, does not acquire ownership of property simply by taking it. They also challenged the core premise of Gerstein Harrow’s argument — that North Korea carried out the hack — calling it “conjecture from posts on the internet” rather than established fact.
Victims Waiting As Arbitrum DAO VotesGerstein Harrow’s restraining notice arrived just days before the deadline, halting any transfer while the legal question is sorted out. Reports indicate the notice effectively placed Arbitrum DAO in a legal bind — it cannot move the funds without risking contempt, even as the community vote moves forward.
According to court filings, Aave warned that continued restraint could destabilize the wider DeFi market, not just the Kelp victims.
A Pattern Of Claims Tied To North Korea HacksFeatured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
