Drift Protocol Secures $148 Million to Relaunch with USDT Following Major Exploit
- Drift Protocol has secured a funding package of up to $147.5 million from Tether and partners to recover from an exploit that resulted in over $270 million in losses.
- The funding includes $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners, aimed at supporting user recovery and transitioning to a USDT-based perpetual futures exchange on Solana.
- Drift’s governance token, DRIFT, has decreased by approximately 70% since the exploit on April 1, which was linked to a North Korean group posing as a trading firm.
- Previously using Circle’s USDC as its settlement layer, Drift will now utilize Tether’s USDT for its trading infrastructure.
- Tether plans to implement fee reductions and user incentives during Drift’s transition while also providing liquidity support for market makers.
The funding package aims to cover approximately $295 million in user losses over time while positioning USDT as the central stablecoin for Drift’s operations after the exploit incident.
With this new strategy, Drift is set to relaunch as the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Solana, enhancing its trading capabilities significantly after securing vital support from Tether.(Source)
