OpenZeppelin's Manuel Aráoz Says "All DeFi Is Unsafe", Sparks Industry Pushback

On May 26, OpenZeppelin co-founder and former CTO Manuel Aráoz said he views all DeFi as unsafe and urged friends and family to exit positions including Aave, MakerDAO, and Compound. The remarks spread quickly on X and drew immediate rebuttals, including claims that most recent DeFi losses were tied to operational failures rather than smart-contract bugs. Data cited in the debate includes more than $1.1 billion in DeFi hack losses over the last 365 days and a TVL decline from about $172B in January to $148B in May 2026.