Following a significant exploit that resulted in the loss of over $270 million in user assets, Drift Protocol has announced plans to relaunch using Tether's USDT as its settlement layer, thanks to a proposed funding package of up to $147.5 million from Tether and its partners. The funding package, which includes a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and loans to market makers, aims to support user recovery and reboot the platform as a USDT-based perpetual futures exchange on Solana.
The decision to switch to USDT comes after Circle, the issuer of USDC, faced criticism for its handling of the exploit, with some arguing that it could have acted faster to freeze funds and prevent the attacker from transferring the stolen assets. In contrast, Tether has a history of swiftly freezing assets linked to hacks and illicit activities. With over 175,000 users and $150 billion in cumulative trading volume, Drift is the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Solana, offering a range of services including perpetuals, spot trading, lending, and borrowing.
The funding package also includes plans for fee reductions and user incentives tied to Drift's transition to USDT, as well as liquidity support for designated market makers to enhance trading depth at relaunch.