Tether Pledges $127.5M to Help Drift Protocol Reimburse Users After $270M+ Hack

Drift Protocol, Solana's largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange, said it has secured up to $147.5 million in support from Tether and partner firms to reimburse users and relaunch the protocol following a hack that exceeded $270 million. The package includes $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners. Drift said the April 1 attack was carried out by a North Korea-linked group that had spent roughly six months inside the platform while posing as a quantitative trading firm. The breach sent the DRIFT token down about 70%. Drift said the funding mix spans revenue-linked credit, ecosystem subsidies and market-maker loans, with the goal of covering roughly $295 million in user losses. Once the protocol resumes operations, USDT will replace USDC as the primary settlement layer. Tether will also offer fee cuts, user incentives and additional liquidity support.