Following a significant exploit linked to a North Korean group, Drift Protocol has announced plans to relaunch its platform using Tether's USDT as its primary settlement layer, thanks to a proposed funding package of up to $147.5 million from Tether and its partners. The deal is comprised of a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and loans to market makers, with the primary goal of supporting user recovery and rebooting the platform as a USDT-based perpetual futures exchange on Solana.
This comes after the platform's previous settlement layer, Circle's USDC, was exploited for over $270 million on April 1. A portion of the trading revenue will be allocated to a recovery pool aimed at covering the user losses over time. The exploit led to a loss of about 70% of the value of Drift's governance token, DRIFT.
The funding package will also facilitate fee reductions and user incentives tied to Drift's transition to USDT, as well as provide liquidity support to designated market makers to enhance trading depth at relaunch. This strategic move positions USDT at the core of Drift's trading infrastructure, enabling the platform to restore user funds and resume operations.