Arbitrum Council Freezes $71 Million in ETH Linked to KelpDAO Exploit

Overview

• Arbitrum’s 12-member Security Council used emergency powers this week to move 30,766 ETH tied to the KelpDAO hack into an ownerless wallet, halting the funds in place.
• The freeze required an active transfer using privileged keys rather than a switch being flipped, which shows the council can override an attacker’s on-chain control in rare cases.
• Council members are elected by token holders every six months, and Arbitrum leaders say those emergency authorities are transparent and limited to crisis response.
• Arbitrum said it acted with input from law enforcement, and insiders cited reports of possible state-linked involvement as a reason not to hold a public DAO vote that could alert the exploiter.
• The assets remain locked pending wider DAO decisions, and the move has reignited questions over whether such interventions protect users or concentrate too much power in a small group.