Tether will inject up to $127.5 million into Drift Protocol as part of a recovery plan totaling nearly $150 million following the platform’s recent exploit that led to about $285 million in user losses, the company announced Thursday.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino hinted at the bailout earlier today.
Today will be a good day for DeFi
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) April 16, 2026
In a separate statement, Ardoino said Tether’s role in the digital asset ecosystem is to support the industry during periods of stress, describing it as stepping forward in “moments of darkness.” The move targets restoring user confidence through a relaunch tied to real activity and long-term growth.
“This collaboration reflects our confidence in Drift and its role in the DeFi ecosystem,” Ardoino stated. “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.”
The structure ties repayments to ongoing trading activity, with platform revenues contributing to user recovery as operations resume. Further funding will be deployed gradually and linked to performance, aligning recovery with usage rather than upfront capital injections.
Drift also plans to shift its settlement assets from USDC to USDT as part of the relaunch, onboarding more than 128,000 users and ecosystem participants. The move is expected to increase liquidity and reinforce USDT’s role in the Solana-based trading infrastructure.
Drift’s native token, DRIFT, rose about 22%, climbing from $0.045 to $0.055 following the announcement, per CoinGecko. The token previously plunged as much as 30% in the aftermath of the attack.
Circle faces scrutiny over USDC freeze timing after Drift exploit
Circle has faced criticism following the Drift Protocol exploit, where attackers moved more than $230 million in USDC to Ethereum. Critics, including prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, said the crypto giant had the technical ability to freeze funds during the multi-hour transfer window but did not act.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire defended the company’s USDC freeze policy. Responding to criticism, Allaire said wallet blockings are only carried out under formal legal authority such as court orders or law enforcement directives.
Circle has maintained that it acts only under legal compulsion and has urged clear regulatory standards for stablecoin issuers.
