Key Takeaways
Solv Protocol moves $700M in tokenized Bitcoin from Layerzero to Chainlink CCIP, joining two other major DeFi protocols.An April 18, 2026, exploit drained roughly $292M from KelpDAO, triggering security reviews across DeFi bridging infrastructure.Re (re.xyz) selects Chainlink CCIP as its exclusive cross-chain bridge for reUSD, a stablecoin backed by $475M+ in protocol TVL.
Three DeFi Protocols Pull Nearly $1B From Layerzero After $292M April Exploit
Solv Protocol announced this week that it is migrating its entire tokenized bitcoin portfolio, including SolvBTC and xSolvBTC, from Layerzero to Chainlink CCIP. The move covers roughly $700 million in assets and affects bridge deployments on Corn, Berachain, Rootstock, and TAC networks. Layerzero support on those chains is being deprecated as the migration proceeds in phases.
“After an extensive security review, Solv is deprecating its Layerzero bridges and migrating to the most secure cross-chain solution in the industry, with SolvBTC and xSolvBTC now officially powered by Chainlink CCIP across all supported chains,” the team wrote.
Re (re.xyz), an onchain reinsurance protocol, made a similar call. The team selected Chainlink CCIP as the exclusive cross-chain infrastructure for reUSD, its yield-bearing stablecoin with more than $160 million in market cap. Re cited CCIP’s redundant validation by 16 or more independent node operators, native rate-limit circuit breakers, and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance as the deciding factors. Protocol TVL stands above $475 million.
Both decisions follow an April 18, 2026, exploit that drained approximately 116,500 rsETH, worth roughly $292 million at the time, from a Layerzero-powered bridge used by KelpDAO. Attackers reportedly used the stolen assets as collateral on Aave v3. KelpDAO attributed the breach to a 1-of-1 verifier configuration within Layerzero’s infrastructure, which created a single point of failure.
Layerzero disputed that framing. The company said KelpDAO had manually selected a non-recommended single-verifier model against Layerzero’s own guidance and that it would no longer support such configurations. The public dispute drew renewed scrutiny to how Layerzero’s Omnichain Fungible Token standard handles verifier setup and whether default configurations offer adequate protection.
Chainlink CCIP uses a different model. Each bridge lane relies on multiple independent Decentralized Oracle Networks, with 16 or more security-reviewed node operators handling validation. Separate codebases manage execution and risk, and built-in rate limits act as circuit breakers if anomalous transfer volumes appear. Solv noted that CCIP had already been part of its collateral verification stack, making the migration a consolidation rather than a full replacement.
Re described the switch as an obvious upgrade given what it called Chainlink’s foundational role in its existing infrastructure. The team said it chose to prioritize track record, third-party audits, and institutional security standards over speed or cost when evaluating bridge options in the wake of recent DeFi hacks.
Huma Finance, a PayFi network, also selected CCIP as the exclusive bridge for its PST yield product. Unlike Solv, Re, and KelpDAO, however, Huma was not migrating from an active Layerzero deployment. Its decision was framed as a forward-looking infrastructure choice following the same security reviews that prompted the other three protocols to act.
The combined scale of these shifts, nearly $1 billion when counting Solv and KelpDAO alone, has strengthened Chainlink’s position as a preferred cross-chain standard for protocols managing institutional-grade or high-value assets. Chainlink executives have described the moment as a flight to quality, with teams seeking infrastructure that offers default protections rather than configurations that place security responsibility on individual operators.
“Glad to see all the hard work that Chainlink has put into generating real security is being recognized as valuable by more and more teams in our industry,” Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov remarked on X. “It seems that focusing on making the secure and reliable solution is what wins in an industry where securing value is a key feature of everyone’s product.”
Nazarov added:
“We have seen the trend of low quality data oracles with poor security being switched out for Chainlink for many years now, with that trend continuing on a regular basis.”
Holders of rsETH, SolvBTC, xSolvBTC, and reUSD are largely unaffected during the transition. Each protocol has structured its migration to be phased, with minimal required action from users in most cases.
The trend reflects a practical calculation by DeFi teams: when a single misconfiguration can result in a nine-figure loss, default security architecture matters more than flexibility.
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Following a $300 million exploit on April 18, 2026, KelpDAO has publicly challenged LayerZero Labs’ account of the incident, alleging…
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Following a $300 million exploit on April 18, 2026, KelpDAO has publicly challenged LayerZero Labs’ account of the incident, alleging…
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Following a $300 million exploit on April 18, 2026, KelpDAO has publicly challenged LayerZero Labs’ account of the incident, alleging…
