Drift Protocol, the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Solana, was exploited on April 1, losing roughly $295.7 million in user funds across USDC, SOL, cbBTC, and other tokens. Nearly four months later, the platform has unveiled a recovery plan — but the gap remains stark.
Tether leads a $147.5M package split into three parts
Tether pledged up to $127.5 million, with other partners contributing another $20 million, totaling $147.5 million for a dedicated recovery pool. The package includes a $100 million revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem grant, and loans to market makers. Repayments for the credit facility will be tied to the exchange's future income. Any assets retrieved by law enforcement or forensic partners will also be funneled into the same pool.
Affected users will receive new recovery tokens, distinct from the DRIFT governance token. These tokens act as transferable claims on future payouts from the pool.
Settlement asset switches from USDC to USDT; audits and controls tightened
Drift plans to relaunch with USDT as its settlement asset, replacing USDC. Tether will also provide a USDT support facility for designated market makers to ensure deep liquidity from day one. The exchange stressed it will not reopen hastily: OtterSec is auditing the rebuilt codebase, while Asymmetric is reviewing operational security post-exploit. A new community-governed multisig will manage core assets; signers must use dedicated devices, and transactions will be subject to timelocks and external checks.
Circle hit with class-action suit over unblocked $230M in stolen USDC
The fallout is widening. Plaintiff Joshua McCollum filed a class-action case in Massachusetts, alleging Circle failed to freeze roughly $230 million in USDC moved from Solana to Ethereum via CCTP during the attack. The lawsuit could shape expectations around stablecoin issuers' responsibilities after major hacks.
Drift's latest update puts the outstanding user loss at exactly $295,706,374.93, with stolen assets spanning JLP, USDC, cbBTC, SOL, USDT, and more. The exchange has served over 175,000 traders and processed about $150 billion in cumulative volume. Key checkpoints ahead include audit results, recovery token terms, and whether sufficient liquidity at relaunch can restore trader confidence.