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David Schwartz, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ripple, has addressed concerns about DeFi bridge security, reassuring XRP Ledger (XRPL) users that the network is not exposed to attacks similar to those linked to the Kelp DAO exploit. Schwartz said the vulnerability of cross-chain bridge systems depends on their design and implementation, as well as the extent to which they rely on external bridge infrastructure.
In an X post dated April 20, Schwartz provided context on how users in the XRP Ledger ecosystem differ from those exposed to cross-chain risks highlighted by the Kelp DAO incident. The discussion comes after Kelp DAO suffered a major security breach connected to vulnerabilities in its bridging infrastructure.
According to the report, the hack led to the theft of approximately $292 million in rsETH tokens, which were then immediately used as debt collateral on Aave, a lending protocol.
Schwartz pointed to a structural difference between how the XRP Ledger operates and how many DeFi setups function. He said that in systems such as Kelp DAO’s rsETH arrangement, assets move across chains through third-party bridge protocols. In such models, additional points of failure can emerge if verification rules are not strictly enforced.
By contrast, Schwartz said the XRP Ledger includes built-in transaction finality and does not rely on the same type of external cross-chain messaging infrastructure for its core functions. He argued this reduces the ledger’s exposure to exploits that attempt to trick bridge validators or falsify cross-chain instructions.
Schwartz concluded that, for XRP Ledger users, reliance on bridge security systems is significantly reduced. As a result, exposure to vulnerabilities similar to the Kelp DAO incident is structurally limited.
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