KelpDAO has filed a lawsuit against LayerZero and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino over the exploit of its rsETH cross-chain bridge earlier this year. Pellegrino confirmed that Evercrest, which he identified as KelpDAO, filed a notice of civil claim in British Columbia. He called the claim “meritless” and said he would defend himself in Vancouver.

The dispute moves the parties’ public disagreement over responsibility for the bridge failure into litigation. CoinDesk reported that the exploit drained approximately $292 million in rsETH and disrupted liquidity across decentralized finance markets.

Configuration and security are at issue

In its public statement, KelpDAO alleges that LayerZero failed to disclose weaknesses and risks in its technology and failed to prevent an infiltration of its security infrastructure. It also says LayerZero reviewed and endorsed its deployment and configuration in writing.

Those assertions are KelpDAO’s allegations, not established findings. Pellegrino’s response confirms the existence of the claim but rejects its merits; it does not concede responsibility for the exploit.

KelpDAO says it has since undertaken a migration of rsETH’s bridge to a different cross-chain security standard. Its statement links to a publicly filed complaint and says the litigation seeks accountability for harm to the protocol and the wider ecosystem.

For bridge operators and protocols relying on cross-chain assets, the central question is who bears responsibility for the security of an integration: the infrastructure provider, the deploying protocol, or both. The parties’ statements establish a live legal dispute, not a resolution of that question.