Drift Secures $148 Million in Funding from Tether and Partners to Recover from Exploit

Following a significant exploit, Drift Protocol has announced plans to relaunch with Tether's USDT as its primary settlement layer, backed by a proposed $147.5 million funding package from Tether and its partners. The package, which includes $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners, is designed to facilitate user recovery and reboot the platform as a USDT-based perpetual futures exchange on Solana, replacing Circle's USDC as its settlement layer. The funding package comprises a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and loans to market makers, with a portion of trading revenue and committed capital allocated to a recovery pool aimed at covering approximately $295 million in user losses over time. This development comes after a North Korea-linked group infiltrated Drift Protocol, resulting in losses exceeding $270 million on April 1, and prompting criticism of Circle's handling of the exploit. Drift's governance token, DRIFT, has lost around 70% of its value since the incident. The new funding will also support fee reductions and user incentives tied to Drift's transition to USDT, as well as provide liquidity support to designated market makers, bolstering trading depth at relaunch.