LRT · KERNEL · $0.75B TVL. Screen grades as of November 12, 2026: Solvency BB, Legitimacy BBB, Growth B. rsETH; restaking-beta.
| Input / Grade | July 27, 2026 | November 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| TVL | $1B | $0.75B |
| 12-month TVL change | -35% | -40% |
| Worst 90-day drawdown | 45% | 36% |
| Drawdown scored | 45% (90-day only, v1.0) | 40% (worse of 90-day and 12-month, v1.1) |
| Solvency (credit grade) | BB · 52 | BB · 52 |
| Growth | B · 34.8 | B · 34.8 |
TVL figures: DefiLlama, parent-level listing. The July 27, 2026 TVL was an analyst estimate and may have used a narrower definition, so part of the TVL difference can be definitional. Only these three inputs were refreshed in the re-screen; sustainability, unlocks, risk, audits, team, delivery, governance, category share and momentum were left as the July 27, 2026 estimates. Since then, some of those inputs have been checked against public data (November 13, 2026); see Input Sources. Where that changed a scored value, the grades in the right-hand column include it.
Solvency screens at BB (52 / 100), unchanged from the July 27, 2026 screen. The worst 90-day TVL drawdown is 36% and 12-month TVL change is -40%. TVL stability is scored on the 12-month decline of 40%, because it is worse than the latest 90 days. Sustainability ratio (1x), unlock pressure (10%) and risk quality (6 / 10) are carried over from July 27, 2026.
Legitimacy screens at BBB (61 / 100). No Legitimacy input was refreshed in the November 12, 2026 re-screen, so the grade is unchanged from July 27, 2026. All four inputs are analyst judgment; the evidence behind each is linked under Input Sources.
Growth screens at B (34.8 / 100), unchanged from the July 27, 2026 screen. TVL is $0.75B, -40% over twelve months (it was -35% at the previous screen). Category share (12%) and momentum (4 / 10) are carried over from July 27, 2026.
Of the 11 scored inputs, 2 are taken from public data, 5 are analyst estimates with the evidence linked, and 4 are under review because the public data disagrees with the estimate or the definition is not settled. An input under review keeps its previous scored value until the review is published.
| Input | Scored Value | Status | Source Or Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainability ratio Solvency | 1x | Under review | DefiLlama: protocol revenue $1.98M over 12m; total fees $34.6M. DefiLlama has no unlock schedule for KERNEL, so emissions are not sourced. The methodology does not yet say whether "revenue" means what the protocol keeps or all fees paid by users, so the July estimate is still the scored value. |
| TVL stability Solvency | 36% / -40% | Sourced | Worst 90-day drawdown and 12-month TVL change, from DefiLlama, parent-level listing, as of November 12, 2026. |
| Unlock pressure (next 12 months) Solvency | 10% | Estimate | Analyst estimate. DefiLlama has no unlock schedule for KERNEL and no other public schedule has been linked yet. |
| Risk quality Solvency | 6 / 10 | Under review | On April 18, 2026 an attacker drained 116,500 rsETH, about $292M, through Kelp's LayerZero bridge. The 6 / 10 score and the July commentary do not mention this exploit. The score has not been changed yet and is under review, including whether a notching cap applies. |
| Audit coverage Legitimacy | 7 / 10 | Estimate | Analyst judgment. Audit reports are published by the protocol. |
| Team & transparency Legitimacy | 7 / 10 | Estimate | Analyst judgment. |
| Delivery vs stated roadmap Legitimacy | 7 / 10 | Under review | Analyst judgment from July. Under review together with risk quality, because the April 2026 bridge exploit bears on delivery as well. |
| Governance & decentralization Legitimacy | 4 / 10 | Estimate | Analyst judgment. DefiLlama lists no governance space for this protocol; no forum or voting record has been linked yet. |
| TVL 12-month trend Growth | -40% | Sourced | 12-month TVL change, from DefiLlama, parent-level listing, as of November 12, 2026. |
| Category market share Growth | 12% | Under review | Kelp holds $715M of the $937M in DefiLlama's Liquid Restaking category, 76%, but that category no longer includes ether.fi. Against a peer set that includes ether.fi the share is about 15%. The peer set has not been settled, so the July estimate is still the scored value. |
| Momentum & users Growth | 4 / 10 | Estimate | Analyst judgment. Evidence: fees in the last 30 days were $2.1M, an annual run rate about 26% below the 12m total of $34.6M. |
"12m" is the twelve months to November 13, 2026. Token amounts are valued at DefiLlama prices on that date. Found an error? Tell us; corrections are published with a date.
The credit grade is Solvency BB. Legitimacy is BBB and the Growth outlook is B; the weakest axis is Growth. These grades use TVL data as of November 12, 2026 and qualitative inputs from July 27, 2026.
The credit grade answers one question: can Kelp DAO survive stress and pay its users back. Legitimacy (BBB) and the Growth outlook (B) are published beside it and are never averaged into it. Weakest axis: Growth.
| Protocol | Solvency | Legitimacy | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelp DAO (this page) | BB | BBB | B |
| ether.fi | A | A | BB |
| Renzo | BB | BBB | CCC |
| Puffer | B | BB | CCC |
| Bedrock | B | BB | CCC |
Kelp DAO's rsETH is a top-three liquid restaking token, now folded into the broader Kernel ecosystem spanning restaking across Ethereum and BNB Chain. The screen scores it as quality mid-pack LRT exposure: competent execution, category-standard risks.
Solvency screens at BB. The ~1x sustainability ratio and 10% unlock schedule leave little cushion, and the 45% drawdown mirrors the restaking retracement. Risk posture (6/10) is category-typical: sound wrapper contracts atop EigenLayer's still-maturing slashing stack.
Legitimacy screens at BBB — adequate audits, an experienced team from the Stader lineage, steady delivery. Governance (4/10) is early, with the Kernel restructuring further concentrating near-term control.
Growth screens at B: 12% category share and soft momentum against the same tide running out that every LRT faces. The BNB-chain expansion is a genuine differentiation attempt.
Composite B. Well-executed beta on a deflating narrative. A full rating would look hardest at what Kernel's multi-chain restaking actually earns, and for whom.
