The initiative follows an April 1 exploit that drained approximately $270 million to $285 million from the Solana-based perpetual DEX. As part of the relaunch, Drift will pivot from USDC to USDT as its primary settlement asset for its 128,000 users.
Tether has announced a strategic commitment of up to $127.5 million to lead a recovery effort for Drift Protocol, the largest decentralized perpetual exchange on Solana. The $150 million total support package, which includes an additional $20 million from ecosystem partners, aims to restore user balances and stabilize the platform after a devastating security breach earlier this month. The recovery structure is notably linked to ongoing trading activity, utilizing a revenue-sharing model to gradually reimburse affected users.
The move follows an April 1 exploit where attackers, identified by security groups like SEAL 911 as state-sponsored North Korean actors, successfully drained the protocol’s vaults. The sophisticated attack involved a six-month social engineering campaign where the hackers posed as a quantitative trading firm to gain internal trust. Following the breach, the DRIFT token plummeted, and the protocol’s Total Value Locked (TVL) saw a significant contraction from over $550 million to approximately $230 million.
A central component of the recovery plan is Drift’s transition to USDT as its core settlement layer. This pivot marks a departure from USDC, following community criticism regarding the speed of asset freezes during the initial hours of the hack. By integrating USDT, Drift plans to onboard its 35 ecosystem teams—including Gauntlet, Neutral, and M1—onto a Tether-based trading infrastructure. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that the collaboration is designed to align recovery with long-term growth and platform performance.
To facilitate the restoration of funds, Drift intends to issue a new transferable token to affected users, representing a claim on a dedicated compensation pool. This pool will be funded by the credit facility, ecosystem grants, and future exchange revenue. The protocol is also undergoing rigorous audits by OtterSec and Asymmetric Research to harden its security posture before a full relaunch.
“The willingness of Tether and our partners to commit real capital to Drift’s recovery says something about the strength of what we’ve built and our shared vision to scale the Solana DeFi ecosystem together,” said Cindy Leow, co-founder of Drift Protocol.
The market responded positively to the announcement, with the DRIFT token rallying over 14% to reach approximately $0.05. However, the asset remains significantly below its all-time high as the protocol begins the long-term process of addressing the estimated $295 million in total user losses.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind. Readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions.
