OTC Whale Pulls $272M in wstETH and $222M in cbBTC From Aave After Exploit Grows

OTC whale withdrew $272M wstETH and $222M cbBTC from Aave as rsETH exploit pressure pushed ETH utilization to 100%.

A large OTC whale moved major assets out of Aave as pressure spread across the protocol.

On-chain trackers said the wallet withdrew 98,032 wstETH worth about $272 million.

The same wallet also removed 3,000 cbBTC valued at about $221.6 million. The move followed growing stress tied to the KelpDAO rsETH exploit.

Whale Withdraws Major Holdings From Aave

The wallet had built a large position before this latest move. On-chain data showed earlier purchases of 163,405 ETH worth about $440 million.

The same wallet also bought 4,000 cbBTC worth about $296 million. That made it one of the biggest visible holders in this case.

As market conditions changed, the whale began reducing exposure on Aave. It withdrew a large amount of wstETH from the platform.

It also removed a major share of its cbBTC holdings. These transactions drew notice because of their scale.

The OTC whale who previously bought 163,405 $ETH($440M) and 4,000 $cbBTC($296M) has withdrawn 98,032 $wstETH($272M) and 3,000 $cbBTC($221.6M) from #Aave.

Affected by the KelpDAO rsETH bridge exploit, he was unable to withdraw $ETH, so he directly swapped 7,438 aEthWETH($16.83M)… pic.twitter.com/77bWkauH9V

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 20, 2026

At the same time, the whale faced limits on direct ETH withdrawals. Because of that, the wallet used another route to access funds.

It swapped 7,438 aEthWETH worth about $16.83 million into stETH and ETH. That move came with a cost.

Trackers said the wallet received 1,930 stETH and 5,272 ETH from the swap. Even so, the trade caused a loss of 237 ETH.

That loss was worth about $540,000 at the time. The wallet still has 10,000 ETH left on Aave.

KelpDAO Exploit Raises Pressure on ETH Liquidity

The wider pressure followed reports of a KelpDAO rsETH bridge exploit. The reported size of the exploit was about $292 million.

That event quickly raised concern across linked DeFi positions. As a result, attention shifted to Aave’s ETH market.

Reports said stolen rsETH was used as collateral on Aave. Based on those claims, about $236 million was borrowed against that collateral.

This created fresh concern around the strength of the backing. It also raised questions about liquidity risk.

Soon after, Aave’s ETH pool reached 100% utilization. That means almost no ETH remained available for withdrawal.

When that happens, users may find it harder to exit positions. Large holders usually face even more limits in such periods.

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AAVE Falls as Traders React to Market Stress

AAVE dropped sharply as the situation developed. Market data showed the token was down about 20% on the day.

Traders reacted to the exploit news and the tighter ETH pool. The whale’s withdrawals added to that pressure.

💥 JUST IN: $AAVE is down -20% today after a $292M Kelp DAO rsETH exploit triggered a liquidity crisis.

Aave’s ETH pool just hit 100% utilization. That means there’s almost no ETH left to withdraw now 😐😐 pic.twitter.com/IdwkDX8KMc

— CryptoJack (@cryptojack) April 19, 2026

At the same time, reports pointed to about $5.4 billion in outflows. That figure added to concern around market stability.

Large outflows often increase stress during fast-moving declines. In this case, they also kept focus on Aave.

As reported earlier by Live Bitcoin News, the Kelp DAO exploit put fresh pressure on Aave after Lookonchain said the attacker used rsETH as collateral to drain ETH.

The event reportedly left Aave with bad debt, triggered more than $5.4 billion in outflows, and pushed ETH utilization to 100%.

Justin Sun alone withdrew 65,584 ETH, worth about $154 million. At the same time, AAVE fell more than 18% as whales sold into the weakness.

Smaugvision sold 20,015 AAVE for 2.06 million USDC, while whale 0xFC56 sold 20,000 AAVE for 2.05 million USDC.

Whale 0xA2E4 also sold 19,666 AAVE for ETH and WBTC at an average price of about $99.