Drift Protocol jumps 20% as Tether backs $127.5M recovery plan

Drift Protocol's governance token, DRIFT, surged 20% on Thursday, rising to intraday highs above $0.061 and touching its highest level since April 1, 2026.

DRIFT exploded following an announcement that stablecoin giant Tether has committed $127.5 million in funding to support Drift's rebound from a major cyberattack linked to North Korea.

This development has ignited trader enthusiasm, paving the way for Drift's planned revival on Solana using USDT for settlements.

Drift secures $127.5 million in key Tether backing

Drift Protocol, hit by a sophisticated North Korean-backed hack earlier this month, is set to revive its operations with Tether's USDT serving as the primary settlement asset.

The project on Thursday disclosed a nearly $150 million funding package, including $127.5 million from Tether and an additional $20 million from partner backers.

According to details, the capital infusion will help in efforts to compensate affected users. The funds will also play a huge role in the relaunch of Drift as a USDT-powered perpetual futures platform on the Solana blockchain. The exchange previously relied on USDC from Circle for settlements.

Key components of the package feature a credit line tied to future revenues, grants for ecosystem growth, and financing for market makers. Trading fees generated post-relaunch, combined with the upfront funds, will feed into a dedicated pool to address approximately $295 million in customer losses gradually.

“To streamline distribution of recovery assets and provide liquidity for impacted users, Drift will issue a dedicated recovery token - separate from the DRIFT governance token,” the team said in an update. Every token will represent a claim that impacted users will have on the recovery pool, with these tokens set to be transferable.

Meanwhile, Drift has emphasized that adopting USDT will anchor its trading ecosystem, offering a clear route to repay users and restart activities.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, noted in a statement:

“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.”

DRIFT price outlook

Post-exploit, DRIFT's token cratered to a bottom of $0.024, but it has rebounded. The token was up over 60% in the last seven days at the time of writing, with gains of 20% in the past 24 hours coinciding with Tether’s funding reveal.

It’s the bullish pressure that propelled DRIFT past $0.050, with intraday highs of $0.061 coming as bulls tested the pivotal barrier marked by the 50-day exponential moving average. With RSI at around 50 and upsloping, momentum looks healthy. Drift price could have another leg up before hitting overbought conditions.

If volume holds steady, with a 70% surge to over $33 million on the day, bulls could breach $0.075 and target $0.100 next.

However, profit-taking remains a hurdle, and primary support could be at $0.040 and potentially $0.030.