Trending Now - Arbitrum Locks $71M in Ether Following Kelpdao Hack Incident
WHO:
NewsBTC - Arbitrum’s Security Council, KelpDAO, law enforcement, Arkham, Griff Green (member of Arbitrum’s Security Council), Deestar (commentator on X).
Cointelegraph - Griff Green (member of Arbitrum’s Security Council).
WHAT:
Bitcoinist - Nine out of 12 council members voted in favor of the decision to freeze the funds, indicating a divided opinion within Arbitrum’s Security Council.
NewsBTC - The funds were transferred to the address 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000DA0.
NewsBTC - Arbitrum’s Security Council froze 30,766 ETH tied to the KelpDAO exploit, valued at approximately $71 million.
NewsBTC - KelpDAO was exploited on April 18th, 2026, for about $290 million.
NewsBTC - The frozen funds were moved to an intermediary wallet that requires further governance action to unlock.
NewsBTC - Arbitrum stated, “The Arbitrum Security Council has taken emergency action to freeze the 30,766 ETH being held in the address on Arbitrum One that is connected to the KelpDAO exploit.”
NewsBTC - Arkham confirmed the action via X, stating, “ARBITRUM RECOVERS $70.9M FROM KELPDAO EXPLOITER.”
NewsBTC - KelpDAO thanked Arbitrum’s council and SEAL 911 for their assistance in the response to the incident.
WHERE:
NewsBTC - The funds were moved from an address on Arbitrum One to an intermediary wallet.
WHEN:
NewsBTC - The KelpDAO exploit occurred on April 18th, 2026.
NewsBTC - The action to freeze the funds was confirmed on April 21st, 2026.
WHY:
NewsBTC - Griff Green stated, “But all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, so today, we decided to do something.”
NewsBTC - The Arbitrum Security Council acted with input from law enforcement regarding the identity of the exploiter.
NewsBTC - Griff Green stated, “We did not make this decision lightly, there were countless hours of debates, technical, practical, ethical and political.”
HOW:
NewsBTC - The Arbitrum Security Council intervened to override the normal finality of chain-held funds by freezing the ETH, marking a significant action in the blockchain's history.
NewsBTC - The Arbitrum Security Council intervened to override the normal finality of chain-held funds by freezing the ETH.
(UPDATED April 22, 2026 07:23 UTC)
The Arbitrum Security Council took a significant step by voting to freeze certain funds, with nine out of twelve council members supporting the decision, reflecting a divided opinion within the group. The funds were transferred to a specific address, 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000DA0, as part of this intervention. Griff Green emphasized the importance of taking action, stating, “But all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, so on Wednesday, we decided to do something.”
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(UPDATED April 21, 2026 21:17 UTC)
The Arbitrum Security Council has successfully frozen 30,766 ETH, valued at approximately $71 million, that was tied to the KelpDAO exploit, which occurred on Saturday, resulting in losses of about $290 million. This emergency action, confirmed on Tuesday, involved moving the funds to an intermediary wallet pending further governance decisions, with input from law enforcement regarding the identity of the exploiter. Griff Green, a member of the council, emphasized that the decision was not made lightly, involving extensive discussions on various aspects of the situation.