Drift Protocol, a decentralized exchange, detected unusual trading activity Wednesday and warned users not to deposit funds until the issue is resolved. The team’s initial announcement did not explain the cause or extent of the incident and said it is investigating. In a later update, Drift said deposits and withdrawals have been suspended.
Blockchain security researcher Vladimir S suggested the exploit likely stemmed from a leaked crypto wallet private key, saying an admin signer may have been compromised or intentionally used to execute changes. He estimated losses could reach as much as $200 million.
Reportedly stolen assets include wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Jito (JTO), the Fartcoin (FRT) memecoin, various altcoins and multiple dollar, euro and yen stablecoins. Those assets were moved to several wallets, and the exploiter began converting funds to USDC, bridging them to Ethereum and buying Ether, according to Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp.
Cointelegraph sought comment from Drift but had not received an immediate response.
Crypto hacks and exploits remain a persistent threat; February saw about $49 million in losses from cybersecurity incidents, down from January but indicative of ongoing risks. The Drift (DRIFT) token reacted sharply to the news, briefly reaching $0.068 before falling roughly 18%, per CoinMarketCap data. Security firm Immunefi reports that roughly 83% of native tokens from hacked platforms never regain pre-hack prices.
Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador warned that stolen funds are only the first layer of harm: subsequent impacts often include prolonged token price suppression, diminished treasury resources, leadership disruption, lost development time and erosion of user trust.
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