Tether announced plans to support Drift Protocol’s recovery and relaunch following the platform’s April 1 exploit, with the stablecoin issuer backing a recovery package of nearly $150 million as the protocol prepares to deepen USDT usage on Solana.
In a blog post, Tether said the support plan includes up to $127.5 million and is aimed at helping users recover after the exploit, which Drift said resulted in about $285 million in user losses, while giving the Solana-based perpetuals platform a path to return to the market.
Rather than relying only on a one-time capital injection, the recovery plan is built around a model in which user restoration is linked to Drift’s return to trading, allowing exchange revenue to play a direct role in rebuilding affected balances as the platform resumes operations and works toward a broader relaunch.
Recovery Tied to Platform Activity
Tether said the structure was designed to put users first while still allowing Drift to continue operating and expanding, with capital expected to be introduced progressively and aligned with platform performance rather than deployed all at once.
That approach gives the recovery effort a revenue-linked framework in which trading activity on the relaunched platform would help support both user recovery and Drift’s ability to stabilize its business, creating a model that connects repayment more closely to actual usage and ongoing exchange activity, the company said.
The plan also gives Drift a chance to return to the market with a clearer operating path after one of the larger recent setbacks to hit a major Solana-based trading venue.
USDT to Take a Larger Role on Solana
As part of the relaunch, Drift said it will move its settlement asset from USDC to USDT, a shift that Tether said would bring more than 128,000 users and over 35 ecosystem teams onto USDT-based trading across one of Solana’s larger perpetual trading platforms.
The announcement said the network of connected teams includes Gauntlet, Neutral, and M1, extending USDT settlement more deeply into Drift’s trading activity and placing Tether in a stronger position within Solana’s decentralized trading ecosystem.
The transition also marks a notable change in settlement infrastructure for Drift, as stablecoin competition across exchanges and DeFi platforms continues to center not only on market share, but also on which assets become embedded most deeply in trading, collateral, and settlement flows.
Tether Positions Itself as a Crisis Responder
Tether framed the collaboration as part of a broader role it has sought to play during periods of strain in the digital asset industry, saying it has worked with more than 310 law enforcement agencies across 64 countries and helped recover over $800 million in coordination with authorities during security incidents.
Paolo Ardoino, chief executive of Tether, said the company’s role in the digital asset market was to be ready to support the industry at critical moments, adding that the Drift collaboration reflected confidence in the protocol and in its place within decentralized finance.
“The focus is on restoring user confidence and supporting a strong relaunch, with a structure that aligns recovery with real activity and long-term growth,” Ardoino said.
The recovery package leaves Drift attempting not only to repair damage from the exploit, but also to relaunch with a revised operating structure that ties user recovery, platform revenue, and expanded USDT usage together as it seeks to regain momentum on Solana.
What Happened in the Drift Exploit
Drift is attempting to return to market less than two weeks after the April 1 breach that left the Solana-based protocol facing roughly $285 million in user losses, an incident that ranked among the most severe attacks ever to hit the Solana ecosystem.
Early assessments from blockchain investigators suggested the breach was linked less to a routine coding flaw than to a wider compromise involving privileged access and governance-related controls.
Drift disclosed the scale of the losses on April 2 and has since been working on a recovery plan designed to support affected users while bringing trading activity back to the platform.
