Drift has outlined a recovery plan backed by Tether and other partners as it works to relaunch after the April 1 exploit that drained about $295.7 million from the protocol. The Solana-based exchange said the package includes up to $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners, structured around a $100 million revenue-linked credit facility, an ecosystem grant and loans to market makers.
The plan gives the relaunch a clearer shape than a standard post-hack update. Drift is not only trying to repay affected users; it is also resetting parts of the protocol’s operating model as it comes back online.
At relaunch, the exchange said it will move from USDC (CRYPTO: $USDC) to USDT (CRYPTO: $USDT) as its settlement layer, with Tether also providing a market-making support facility through designated market makers to help ensure liquidity from day one.
To handle recovery, Drift said it will create a dedicated recovery pool funded by committed support capital and a portion of exchange revenue. Impacted users will receive a transferable recovery token, separate from the DRIFT governance token, with each token representing a claim on that pool.
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The protocol is also introducing a new community-governed multisig for core assets, along with dedicated signing devices, timelocks, real-time alerts and other security changes meant to tighten operational controls after the exploit.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company’s role in the effort is centered on “restoring user confidence and supporting a strong relaunch.” That is probably the clearest way to read the move. Drift is using the recovery not just to patch losses, but to rebuild around a more deliberate market structure, a different stablecoin partner and a security posture that looks designed for closer scrutiny.
If the relaunch holds, the bigger takeaway may be that recovery plans in DeFi are starting to look less improvised and more like full protocol resets.
Drift Protocol (CRYPTO: $DRIFT) cryptocurrency is currently trading at $0.0473 U.S. per digital token.