What Brings Capital Back to DeFi? | Roundup

DeFi faces a critical inflection point as recent high-profile exploits on protocols like Drift and KelpDAO, totaling approximately $500 million, expose systemic vulnerabilities in infrastructure and multisig configurations. These attacks, increasingly sophisticated and linked to state-sponsored actors like the Lazarus Group, have forced a shift in industry priorities from rapid scalability back to fundamental security. While current sentiment remains low due to contagion risks and the difficulty of recovering assets, the long-term bull case hinges on the integration of real-world assets and the emergence of institutional-grade, permissioned DeFi models. Future growth depends on reconciling the need for atomic composability with the necessity of circuit breakers and clear liability frameworks. As the industry matures, the focus is shifting toward consolidation and the development of robust, agent-friendly backends that can regain institutional trust and drive sustainable capital inflows.