How Spark Escaped the KelpDAO Hack Before It Even Happened

Summary

Sam MacPherson explains how SparkLend avoided the KelpDAO exploit by offboarding rsETH earlier in 2025, outlining the risk assessment process, conservative collateral policies, and governance safeguards.

• SparkLend had already offboarded rsETH before the KelpDAO price manipulation incident.
• The decision was part of a general risk reduction strategy, based on low usage and tail risk.
• Newer, untested assets are kept in conservative parameters (low LTV, no efficiency mode) until they prove organic adoption.
• SparkLend currently limits collateral to five core assets: CBTC, WBTC, ETH, stETH, and eETH.
• Standard governance takes about a month, passing through a risk council, SPK voter snapshot, and Sky final check.
• Emergency multisigs can pause the protocol quickly, and time locks protect assets from hacks.