
newsApr 24, 202647:42pending
DEX in the City: KelpDAO vs. LayerZero: Who Is Liable When a DeFi Protocol Is Hacked?
About this episode
A $300M bridge exploit is forcing the question DeFi has been avoiding: when users lose money, who is actually responsible — the protocol, the infrastructure provider, or both?
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A $300 million bridge exploit at Kelp DAO has put DeFi's most uncomfortable question back on the table: when users lose money, who is actually responsible?
Katherine, Jessi, and Vy dig into the Kelp and Layer Zero finger-pointing and ask whether the industry's core values — permissionlessness, open composability — have become its greatest vulnerability.
Then: the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments on prediction markets last week, and the panel's pointed questions signal the case is headed to the Supreme Court sooner than most expect.
Finally: American Express just solved three of agentic commerce's hardest problems — identity, mandate, and accountability — with a product that's live today. The crypto industry, which should be leading this race, is watching from the sidelines.
Hosts:
Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel at StarkWare. Previously held senior legal roles across DeFi and centralized exchanges.
Jessi Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital
TuongVy Le, General Counsel at Veda
Timestamps
🎙️ 0:00 Introduction live from the Eve Wealth Summit, Phoenix
🔓 2:08 What made the Kelp DAO bridge exploit different from past hacks
⚖️ 7:04 Kelp vs. Layer Zero: who bears liability for the $300M loss
👥 11:37 How retail users coming into DeFi change the accountability calculus
🚦 16:38 Vy: Should DeFi adopt rate limits and permissioning constraints
🗳️ 21:09 Ninth Circuit grills prediction markets — what the skepticism signals
🤖 33:38 Amex launches agentic commerce with accountability crypto hasn't built
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