Drift's fix for its $295M hack: IOUs paid out of future revenue, possibly over eight years

Drift, the Solana-based derivatives exchange, has proposed compensating victims of an April hack that drained $295 million by issuing "recovery tokens" — claims on a pool that would be filled gradually by protocol revenue and by crypto pledged by outside partners, according to an update posted on the exchange's website and reported by DL News.

The mechanics, per Drift's proposal: each affected user gets a recovery token sized to their loss, redeemable against a "recovery pool." Drift proposed seeding that pool with just under $4 million in stablecoins. Once the pool tops $5 million, holders who don't want to wait could redeem their tokens under par — i.e., take a haircut to exit early. The tokens would be transferable, so third parties could effectively bet on Drift's comeback. Elements of the plan require approval by Drift tokenholders.

The hack happened on April 1, when attackers tricked Drift administrators into approving fraudulent transactions, forcing the exchange to halt trading. Blockchain analysts have since said North Korea was likely responsible, per DL News; the attribution is not independently confirmed here.

Alongside the payout plan, Drift said it would relaunch before July as "a leaner, perps-native exchange," dropping its high-yield "earn" products, accepting fewer collateral assets, listing only the most liquid markets, and shelving a mobile app and a new liquidity model it had unveiled three months earlier. Administrators would face a formal security protocol with dedicated devices and quarterly training.

Key facts

• $295 million stolen in an April 1 hack via fraudulently approved transactions; trading was suspended (DL News, citing Drift's website update).
• North Korea "likely" behind the hack, per blockchain analysts cited by DL News (not independently confirmed).
• Recovery pool to be seeded with just under $4 million in stablecoins; early redemption unlocks once the pool passes $5 million (Drift proposal).
• Tether and other partners have pledged a combined $147 million toward recovery (Drift proposal).
• Drift earned $19 million in revenue in 2025; at that rate, DL News calculates the pool would take nearly eight years to reach $295 million even with partner funds.
• DRIFT token traded just under $0.04 before and after the announcement (DL News).

The real-world read

This is a plan authored entirely by the interested party — Drift — and reported through a single secondary source, so read it as a proposal, not a settlement. The headline problem is the math: pledged partner funds ($147M) cover roughly half the loss, and the rest depends on a shrunken business earning enough to fill the gap. DL News's own arithmetic puts full recovery at nearly eight years — and that assumes 2025 revenue holds for a protocol that is deliberately cutting its highest-yield products and pledges are honored. "Made whole" is doing heavy lifting: the under-par early-redemption option is an admission that many users will take a loss rather than wait. The flat token price suggests the market isn't pricing in a recovery either. Notably unsaid: whether any of the stolen $295 million has been or can be recovered.

Not financial advice.

Sources: DL News (Aleks Gilbert) — reported Drift's recovery proposal, the hack details, the revenue-based timeline calculation, and token pricing; the recovery plan itself originates from Drift's own website update, an interested party.