$54.8 Million in Stolen ETH Sent to Tornado Cash from Drift-Linked Wallet
Drift-linked wallet moves 23,000 ETH
A digital wallet linked to the exploit of the Drift protocol transferred approximately 23,000 Ethereum (ETH) to the privacy service Tornado Cash on October 20. The assets were worth roughly $54.8 million at the time of the transactions. A wallet is a tool used to store and send digital currencies like ETH.
Drift is a trading platform that operates on the Solana blockchain, a network used for decentralized financial activities. The protocol was the victim of a major hack on April 1, 2026, which resulted in the loss of about $295.7 million in assets.
Key facts about the Ethereum transfers
- The wallet, labeled by investigators as "Drift Exploiter 5," performed 230 separate deposits of 100 ETH each.
- Approximately 84,164 ETH, valued at nearly $200 million, remains across five wallets identified as belonging to the attacker.
- The transfers took place early in the morning between 3:08 a.m. and 4:58 a.m. ET.
- Tornado Cash is a privacy protocol that makes it difficult to track where funds go once they are withdrawn to a new address.
How mixing complicates recovery efforts
The use of Tornado Cash is intended to hide the connection between the person depositing funds and the person withdrawing them. According to technical documentation for the service, it allows a user to move ETH to a different address without leaving a clear trail on the public blockchain.
This is not the first time the stolen funds have been moved through such services. The Drift Foundation reported that over 23,000 ETH was sent to the same mixer in July. Moving funds through mixers makes it much harder for investigators to recover the assets for the victims of the original hack.
Current status of Drift recovery efforts
Despite the movement of funds, some recovery efforts have seen limited success. The Drift Foundation previously stated that about $9.2 million in stolen assets had been frozen after the attacker attempted to move them in August. However, freezing funds does not mean they have been returned to users yet, as the process involves coordination with law enforcement.
On October 1, Drift launched a recovery token called DFX. Users who hold these tokens can eventually trade them for a share of a recovery pool. This pool is funded by revenue from the platform and any stolen money that is successfully recovered through legal action or bounty programs.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.
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