Aave Price: TVL Falls $15 Billion After KelpDAO Exploit Leaves Hundreds of Millions in Bad Debt

TLDR

Aave’s TVL fell from ~$48.5B to ~$30.7B following the KelpDAO rsETH bridge exploit on April 18 The hack left Aave with an estimated $196M–$280M in bad debt AAVE price is trading around $93, down 7% week-over-week Exchange reserves spiked to 2.39M tokens, suggesting rising sell pressure Rival protocol SparkLend gained ~$1.3B in inflows as capital rotated away from Aave

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Aave’s total value locked dropped by roughly $15 billion in under four days after a security incident involving KelpDAO shook confidence across DeFi lending platforms.

AAVE Price

The exploit centered on a bridge vulnerability in KelpDAO’s rsETH system. An attacker used the flaw to mint fake collateral, borrow real ETH from Aave, and exit the protocol. The bad debt left behind is estimated between $196 million and $280 million.

Before the April 18 incident, Aave held around $48.5 billion in total deposits. By April 22, that figure had fallen to approximately $30.7 billion. Crypto analyst account Wu Blockchain noted on X that cumulative outflows reached $16.2 billion, wiping out more than one-third of the platform’s total deposits.

Aave's total deposits have dropped below the $30 billion mark.

Following the KelpDAO rsETH vulnerability incident, the platform's total supplied funds plummeted from $45.8 billion to the current $29.6 billion.

The cumulative outflow during this period reached $16.2 billion,… pic.twitter.com/WBf1q20Uzl

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 23, 2026

Morpho also saw outflows, with its TVL falling from $11.7 billion to $10.2 billion in the same period.

Capital Moves to SparkLend

Not all the capital left DeFi. SparkLend’s TVL rose to $3.2 billion, picking up around $1.3 billion in new deposits during the same stretch. On-chain data suggests depositors moved funds in search of platforms seen as lower risk.

AAVE’s price was trading around $93.45 at the time of writing, up 1.06% in 24 hours. The token is still down 7.09% over the past week and about 11% over the past month.

Whales are accumulating $AAVE while retail exits

Post KelpDAO exploit:
• ~$196M bad debt
• TVL: $26.3B → $15.6B
• Funds rotating to Spark
Under the hood:
• Whale order size surging
• Sentiment at peak fear$AAVE ~$90–$100 — smart money stepping in.
Not a confirmed… pic.twitter.com/4E0Leexk8a

— Wise Crypto (@WiseCrypto_) April 22, 2026

The four-hour MACD histogram has turned positive and is attempting a bullish crossover. However, the RSI sits near 46, just below the neutral 50 mark.

On-Chain Data Points to Sell Pressure

Exchange reserves for AAVE spiked to nearly 2.39 million tokens. When holders move tokens onto exchanges in large volumes, it often signals intent to sell.

Active loans on Aave are flattening, borrowing demand is down, and fresh capital inflows have weakened. TVL and exchange flow data are moving in opposite directions, a setup that analysts associate with distribution rather than accumulation.

Price has repeatedly been rejected near the $100–$105 zone, which now acts as near-term resistance. The $85–$90 range is the key support area to watch.

Whale wallets have increased accumulation of AAVE tokens despite the outflows. Bitcoin traded above $78,000 and Ethereum above $2,300 at the time of reporting, providing a broadly supportive market backdrop.

If buyers push past $96, the next target is $100. A break above $100 opens the path toward $108. On the downside, losing $90 could expose $88, with $84 as the next level below that.

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