Aave (AAVE)

🚨 BREAKING: @aave says Aave LLC has filed an emergency motion to vacate a restraining notice served on Arbitrum DAO on May 1, 2026, which seeks to seize roughly $71M in ETH tied to victims of the April 18 exploit. https://t.co/QIyaqMN6PQ

Aave just filed an emergency motion in a New York federal court today to lift the freeze on $71M in ETH recovered from the April hacker. The "Good Samaritan" defense of DeFi has officially begun. The framing that carries the entire filing: a thief smashes a Tiffany's display and grabs a diamond. A bystander grabs it back before he escapes. Plaintiffs claim the thief still owns that diamond and his creditors can seize it from the bystander. That is the legal theory in one sentence. The arguments: 1. No court has ever determined the hacker was North Korea, the case rests on internet attribution, not evidence. 2. New York law requires the judgment debtor to have a direct present interest in restrained property, and a thief who lost the assets does not qualify. 3. Plaintiffs claimed "DAOs are general partnerships" by citing two cases that never ruled that, and Aave directly accuses them of "pulling a fast one" on the judge. 4. Aave LLC appears as a non-party and reserves every jurisdictional defense, now the template for every other DeFi protocol dragged into US courts. 5. If the court refuses to lift the freeze, plaintiffs must post a $300M cash bond to cover damages, which they almost certainly cannot. Context: a hacker took $230M from Kelp DAO and Aave on April 18. Arbitrum's Security Council intercepted $71M before the attacker could escape with everything. A US law firm then got a court order freezing the recovered ETH, arguing the hacker IS North Korea and the assets should pay off 10-year-old terrorism judgments against Pyongyang. First major DeFi protocol to formally defend its users in US federal court against asset seizure by unrelated judgment creditors. The arguments and template will be cited for years.

JUST IN: Aave files an emergency motion to prevent the seizure of the ~$71M in recovered ETH meant for KelpDAO exploit victims. https://t.co/sNHWmL8Mqh

Good to see.

Wu said he learned that Aave stated its principal Aave LLC has filed an emergency motion regarding the restriction notice sent to the Arbitrum DAO on May 1, 2026, seeking to rescind that measure. The notice, issued by the plaintiff based on a ruling in a related case of the United States Southern District of New York (SDNY), attempted to seize approximately 71 million ETH (involving assets of users affected by the April 18 exploit). Aave pointed out that stolen assets do not acquire legitimate ownership through theft; the funds have been recovered and will be used to reimburse the affected users. The freezing action would impede the compensation process. Aave has asked the court to expedite the hearing and temporarily lift the freeze, while continuing to work with the Arbitrum community and DeFi United to advance user compensation. https://t.co/vOBpQVTBrt