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DeFi Contagion Spreads Beyond Aave as LayerZero, Lido, Ethena Suffer Sharp Declines: Santiment

April 20, 2026
1 min read
DeFi Contagion Spreads Beyond Aave as LayerZero, Lido, Ethena Suffer Sharp Declines: Santiment

DeFi tokens suffered steep declines over a recent window as contagion from a bad debt event spread across multiple protocols. AAVE declined 22%, LayerZero's ZRO fell 22%, Lido's LDO dropped 19%, Ethena's ENA slid 13%, and Compound's COMP lost 10%, according to Santiment. ETH remained flat over the same period, highlighting the sector-specific pressure on DeFi assets.

LayerZero, which operated the bridge connecting the affected protocols, was repriced by markets as equally culpable to Aave, which held the bad debt. Notably, Ethena—which held zero exposure to the underlying rsETH collateral—still experienced a 13% decline, suggesting contagion fears extended to protocols with no direct exposure. Compound, with only minor rsETH exposure, fell 10%, indicating cascading risk reassessment across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Sources: Santiment

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