Ethena extends bridge halt, secures $5.63B USDe backing

Ethena extended a temporary halt to its LayerZero OFT bridge on April 18 after the rsETH cross-chain exploit to avoid potential contagion; the protocol says it has no direct exposure to the compromised asset but will keep bridges paused until the root cause is identified. To reassure markets, Ethena advanced its proof-of-reserves showing $5.63 billion backing for just under 5.56 billion USDe (≈101.20% collateralization) and reserve funds above $62 million, with attestations from Chainlink, Chaos Labs, LlamaRisk and Harris & Trotter. The pause curbs cross-chain activity and raises short-term user friction, but the disclosed overcollateralization and independent attestations aim to limit panic and preserve USDe stability. DeFi observers view the move as prudent risk containment amid growing concerns about cross-chain messaging vulnerabilities.