Drift Protocol relaunches after its exploit with $150M Tether support, migrating to USDT and strengthening its position on Solana.
Author: Arushi Garg
High attention and emotional sentiment detected.
17 April, 2026: Drift Protocol is officially relaunching with a major partnership and support package from Tether. Tether is committing up to $127.5 million, with additional partners contributing ~$20 million, for a total of nearly $150 million in funding that includes a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and market-maker loans. As part of the relaunch, Drift is fully migrating its settlement layer from USDC to USDT, positioning itself to become the largest USDT-based perpetuals DEX on Solana.
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Esports Bond
@iamesportsbond
@DriftProtocol @tether Putting USDT at the center makes sense for stability. But execution here will matter way more than structure.
Today, Drift is announcing a collaboration with @tether and other partners totaling up to nearly $150 million to support our commitment to a relaunch with USDT at the center, and a path to user recovery. These funds encompass a $100M revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem
04:48 PM·Apr 16, 2026
Ares🌱
@AresSprout
@DriftProtocol @tether USDC could've stopped the hack and did nothing, so USDT comes in to reimburse users Such an incredible PR move by Tether😂
Today, Drift is announcing a collaboration with @tether and other partners totaling up to nearly $150 million to support our commitment to a relaunch with USDT at the center, and a path to user recovery. These funds encompass a $100M revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem
04:33 PM·Apr 16, 2026
Sapna Singh
@AdvSapna_
@DriftProtocol @tether Wah #StilleAlive 2.0 as Drift says "We're not dead". Impacted users get a new transferable "recovery token" representing their claim. Full recovery isn't immediate or guaranteed at 100%. It's spread out ("over time"), so users will likely recover a portion gradually as the
Today, Drift is announcing a collaboration with @tether and other partners totaling up to nearly $150 million to support our commitment to a relaunch with USDT at the center, and a path to user recovery. These funds encompass a $100M revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem
03:05 PM·Apr 16, 2026
Drift Protocol is one of Solana’s largest perpetual futures DEXs, known for high-speed trading, deep liquidity, and multi-collateral support. On April 1, 2026, the protocol suffered a major exploit (widely attributed to North Korean hackers) that resulted in approximately $280–285 million in user losses, forcing the team to pause operations and begin recovery planning.
Today, April 16, 2026, Drift announced a landmark collaboration with Tether and other partners providing up to nearly $150 million in support. Tether is committing up to $127.5 million, with additional partners adding ~$20 million. The package includes a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and market-maker loans to fund a dedicated user recovery pool. As part of the relaunch, Drift is fully migrating its settlement layer from USDC to USDT, positioning itself to become the largest USDT-based perpetuals DEX on Solana.
How the Tether-backed relaunch reshapes liquidity, recovery, and market positioning after the exploit
Drift suffered a major exploit on April 1, 2026 that resulted in roughly $280–285 million in losses, widely attributed to North Korean-linked hackers. The team immediately paused all trading activity and spent the following two weeks negotiating a comprehensive recovery plan.
The nearly $150 million support package is structured as a revenue-linked credit facility from Tether (up to $127.5 million), ecosystem grants, and dedicated market-maker loans from additional partners. This funding directly creates a user recovery pool while enabling Drift to fully migrate its settlement layer to USDT, positioning it as the largest USDT perpetuals DEX on Solana.
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