How Spark Dodged the KelpDAO Hack While the Rest of DeFi Got Hit

Sam MacPherson, CEO of Spark, explains how Spark avoided the KelpDAO hack through conservative risk management, rate limits, and triple-redundant oracles, leading to a 50% TVL increase. He discusses Spark’s governance, the defensive use of AI in smart contract audits, and the value accrual of SPK token via buybacks from protocol profits. - Spark exited rsETH months before the KelpDAO hack as part of routine offboarding, avoiding losses. - Conservative design features (rate limits, no looping, low LTVs) limit potential damage from hacks. - Spark uses a triple-redundant oracle (Chainlink, Redstone, Chronicle) and time-locked emergency multisigs. - AI is expected to improve smart contract audits and enable formal verification, strengthening DeFi security. - Spark provides institutional custodial lending through Anchorage (250M issued, targeting 1B+ by year-end). - Spark is building a stablecoin FX layer on Uniswap, leveraging idle stablecoin inventory for market making. - SPK token value is tied to protocol profits; excess profits fund buybacks, and MacPherson sees tokens converging to DCF valuation.