Drift begins exploit recovery payouts at just over 1 cent per dollar lost

Recovery tokens now available for Drift exploit victims

Velocity, formerly known as Drift, has opened a claims process for users who lost funds in the April hack. The platform is distributing DFX recovery tokens at a rate of one token for every USDT lost. Users can then redeem those tokens for stablecoin payouts from a recovery pool, sell them on the open market, or hold them in hopes of better returns later.

So far, redemption rates are extremely low. Each DFX token can be exchanged for slightly more than 0.01 USDT — roughly one cent back for every dollar lost. On Friday, the recovery dashboard showed about 216,480 DFX tokens had been redeemed for approximately 2,250 USDT in payouts.

Recovery pool remains heavily underfunded

The total recovery pool stands at 3.11 million USDT, drawn from protocol assets. Velocity has committed to directing between 60% and 90% of its net protocol revenue into the pool going forward, but after the first day of the program, that revenue share added just 31 USDT.

Two major资金来源 have not yet appeared. Tether committed up to $127.5 million toward the relaunch and user recovery, and strategic partners pledged up to $20 million. Neither contribution shows up on the dashboard yet.

Additionally, about $9.2 million in stolen funds has been frozen by authorities. That money would ideally flow into the recovery pool once cleared through law enforcement channels.

What the Drift Foundation reports on the hack

In a Sept. 30 update, the Drift Foundation said roughly $295.4 million was stolen in the April 1 attack. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant identified the attacker as UNC6862, described as a North Korean threat group.

The stolen assets were moved to Ethereum. Three attacker wallets still hold 107,165 ETH, worth nearly $286 million. A fourth wallet previously moved 23,094 ETH through the crypto mixer Tornado Cash in July.

What DFX token holders should know

Users choosing to redeem and burn their DFX tokens now will receive the current small payout but will give up any future distributions tied to those tokens. Those who hold their DFX tokens may see higher redemption values over time if additional recovery funds enter the pool and fewer tokens remain outstanding, since new deposits would be divided among a smaller number of DFX.

What is confirmed

The recovery claims process is live. Initial redemptions are yielding just over 1% of losses. The recovery pool holds 3.11 million USDT. Major commitments from Tether and partners have not yet been deposited. Approximately $9.2 million in seized funds is awaiting law enforcement clearance.

What is still unclear

It is not yet known when Tether or the strategic partners will fulfill their funding commitments, or whether the frozen $9.2 million will eventually reach the recovery pool.

Why this matters for exploited DeFi projects

Drift's recovery process highlights the difficulties decentralized exchange platforms face after major hacks. Even with partner pledges and seized assets, the actual amount returned to users in the early stages can be very small. The outcome may influence how other protocols approach post-exploit restitution.

• The Block