DEX in the City: KelpDAO vs. LayerZero: Who Is Liable When a DeFi Protocol Is Hacked?

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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