Drift Protocol Plans Relaunch Using Tether’s USDT After Proposed $147.5 Million Package

According to Drift Protocol, the Solana-based exchange is preparing a USDT-centered relaunch backed by nearly $150 million in support, while expanding its recovery, token distribution, and security overhaul plans after the exploit.

USDT

SOL

USDC

46d ago

Fact Check

The claim is strongly supported by Drift’s own official post, Incident Recovery Update – April 16, 2026 | Drift Updates, which says Drift secured collaboration with Tether and other partners after the April 1 exploit, with proposed contributions of up to $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from partners. The same source explicitly says the package contemplates a revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem grant, and loans to market makers, and is designed to address outstanding user losses over time. CoinDesk’s report, Drift gets $148 million funding from Tether and partners as it replaces Circle stablecoin with USDT after massive exploit, independently matches these details and also confirms the relaunch will use USDT instead of USDC. The user’s wording says 'planned funding, credit facilities, grants, and loans,' which is slightly broader than the exact official phrasing, but it accurately reflects the package structure described by Drift.

Summary

Drift Protocol said it is working with Tether and other collaborators on a structured recovery plan backed by nearly $150 million in combined support following the April 1 exploit. According to the announcement, the package includes a $100 million revenue-linked credit line, an ecosystem grant, and loans to market makers to fund a dedicated user recovery pool. Drift said the attack drained about $285 million from its vaults, while existing reporting on the topic has cited higher loss estimates of $300 million, so the exact figure remains inconsistent across updates. The project also said it will launch a separate transferable recovery token for affected users, relaunch the protocol with USDT replacing USDC for settlements, and require new security measures including independent audits by OtterSec and Asymmetric Research and a community-governed multisig. Drift added that any recovered stolen funds would be directed to the recovery pool.

Terms & Concepts

USDT: A U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether, used widely for trading and settlement across crypto markets.
Multisig: A wallet or control system that requires multiple approvals before a transaction can be executed, often used to secure protocol assets.
Recovery token: A newly issued token representing a user’s claim on a recovery pool, intended to help distribute compensation and provide liquidity options.