{"id":71666,"date":"2026-04-26T21:27:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T21:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/stablecoin-market-sheds-892m-as-kelpdao-breach-triggers-defi-unwind\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T21:27:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T21:27:25","slug":"stablecoin-market-sheds-892m-as-kelpdao-breach-triggers-defi-unwind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/stablecoin-market-sheds-892m-as-kelpdao-breach-triggers-defi-unwind\/","title":{"rendered":"Stablecoin Market Sheds $892M as KelpDAO Breach Triggers DeFi Unwind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Key Takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">KelpDAO breach triggered $892M outflows, pushing <span>DeFi<\/span> TVL down in April 2026.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Tether <span>USDT<\/span> hit $189.78B and 59.19% share, consolidating dominance after exits.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Ethena USDe fell -34.39% to $3.82B, signaling ongoing <span>DeFi<\/span> risk repricing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2> <span>Stablecoin<\/span> Market Holds Tight at $320.65B<\/h2>\n<p>In the aftermath of the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/zachxbt-flags-280m-kelpdao-exploit-hitting-ethereum-defi-lending-markets\/\">KelpDAO episode<\/a>, total value locked (TVL) across <span>decentralized finance<\/span> ( <span>DeFi<\/span>) contracted sharply, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/14b-vanishes-from-defi-ecosystem-after-kelpdao-exploit-rocks-lending-markets\/\">erasing billions<\/a> within a matter of days. The disruption rippled through several <span>DeFi<\/span> protocols, including <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/defi-lender-aave-battles-withdrawal-crisis-after-kelpdao-rseth-exploit\/\">Aave<\/a>, where large volumes of users unwound positions, many opting for the <span>stablecoin<\/span> exit route.<\/p>\n<p>This behavior appears to align with the seven-day contraction of $892.8 million recorded in <span>stablecoin<\/span> metrics tracked by <a href=\"https:\/\/defillama.com\/stablecoins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">defillama.com<\/a>. Tether\u2019s <span>USDT<\/span> continues to dominate with a commanding <span>market cap<\/span> of $189.78 billion. The asset has inched higher in recent days, logging a 1.55% increase over the past week. That translates to roughly $2.89 billion in added value, extending <span>USDT<\/span>\u2019s lead within the $320.65 billion sector total.<\/p>\n<p>Behind <span>USDT<\/span> sits <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/circle-osl-expand-usdc-access-as-asia-cross-border-demand-grows\/\">Circle<\/a>\u2019s USDC at $77.79 billion, which has moved in the opposite direction, posting a -1.01% weekly decline. That decline places USDC\u2019s reduction at approximately $794 million between April 19 and April 26. The third-largest <span>stablecoin<\/span>, Sky\u2019s USDS, representing a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/defi-giant-makerdao-rebrands-as-sky-introduces-usds-stablecoin-and-sky-token\/\">rebrand<\/a> of the ecosystem once known as MakerDAO, now carries a <span>market cap<\/span> of $8.27 billion. USDS has trended lower, slipping -1.89% over the past week.<\/p>\n<p>By simple calculation, USDS lost close to $159 million during the period between April 19 and April 26. Not far behind, Sky\u2019s older <span>stablecoin<\/span> product, DAI, holds steady at a $4.67 billion <span>market cap<\/span> and has diverged from some peers, recording a 1.55% weekly gain.<\/p>\n<p>Completing the top five is <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/justin-sun-world-liberty-financial-lawsuit-wlfi-tokens\/\">World Liberty Financial<\/a>\u2019s USD1, which stands at a $4.39 billion <span>market cap<\/span> and has posted the strongest weekly advance among leading <span>stablecoins<\/span> with a 4.34% increase.<\/p>\n<h2>USDe Leads With $2B in <span>Stablecoin<\/span> Outflows<\/h2>\n<p>While several assets, excluding USDS and USDC, registered gains, a number of other high-cap <span>stablecoins<\/span> experienced notable outflows or supply contractions. The most significant shift came from USDe, which recorded a -34.39% weekly change, bringing its <span>market cap<\/span> down to $3.82 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Ethena\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.bitcoin.com\/crypto\/ethena-usde\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USDe<\/a> shed just over $2 billion during the week as the KelpDAO fallout unfolded. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/ftc-warns-visa-mastercard-paypal-stripe-as-debanking-concerns-shake-us-financial-access\/\">Paypal<\/a>\u2019s PYUSD also contracted sharply, declining -16.06% to settle at a $3.445 billion <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-a-market-cap\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">market cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>USDG followed with a -5.71% decrease over the same period, placing its valuation at $1.114 billion. FDUSD posted a more modest -1.46% decline, bringing its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-a-market-cap\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">market cap<\/a> to $2.34 billion. Meanwhile, other <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoin<\/a> assets, such as FRAX and GUSD, likewise recorded seven-day reductions.<\/p>\n<p>The week\u2019s data essentially points to a market still processing shock rather than finding a firm footing. Capital has not exited indiscriminately; it has rotated with intent, concentrating further in dominant issuers while exposing weaker structures to sharper contractions. Whether stability returns will depend less on price movement and more on confidence rebuilding across <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-defi-decentralized-finance\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeFi<\/a>\u2019s core mechanisms in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/stablecoin-market-sheds-892m-as-kelpdao-breach-triggers-defi-unwind\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways: KelpDAO breach triggered $892M outflows, pushing DeFi TVL down in April 2026. Tether USDT hit $189.78B and 59.19% share, consolidating dominance after exits. Ethena USDe fell -34.39% to $3.82B, signaling ongoing DeFi risk repricing. Stablecoin Market Holds Tight at $320.65B In the aftermath of the KelpDAO [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":71667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}