Drift began processing claims and redemptions for its DFX token on October 1, 2026, giving users who lost funds in the April 1 exploit a way to convert verified losses into a tradable claim on the protocol's Recovery Pool. The opening redemption rate was roughly 0.0104 USDT per DFX, meaning a user with 1,000 USDT in verified losses received 1,000 DFX worth about 10.4 USDT at that moment.
The allocation is straightforward: one DFX for every USDT of verified loss. But the payout isn't. Instead of reimbursing the full amount upfront, Drift is turning approved losses into a token that represents a proportional share of whatever the Recovery Pool holds at the time someone redeems.
How the redemption math works
DFX supply is fixed at 299,500,810.998 tokens. The redemption value is calculated by dividing the Recovery Pool balance by the outstanding DFX supply. At launch, the pool held about 3.1 million USDT, which produced the approximately 0.0104 USDT per token rate.
That rate isn't static. Deposits into the pool increase the numerator, while redemptions reduce the outstanding supply after the corresponding USDT is paid out and the redeemed DFX is permanently burned. So the value can move in either direction depending on how much new money enters the pool and how many tokens get redeemed.
Early redemption activity and revenue gap
On October 2, The Block reported that users had redeemed 216,480 DFX for roughly 2,250 USDT, with the Recovery Pool sitting at about 3.11 million USDT. The same report noted that only around 31 USDT had arrived through the first day's protocol-revenue contribution, suggesting launch-day payouts were funded almost entirely by the existing pool balance rather than fresh revenue.
That gap matters because Drift has said it plans to replenish the pool through daily contributions from Velocity's net protocol revenue. If those contributions stay small in the early days, the redemption rate will rely heavily on the initial pool balance and any recovered funds.
Where the money is supposed to come from
Drift has identified up to 127.5 million USDT in Tether support and up to 20 million USDT from strategic partners as intended sources for the Recovery Pool. The company has also said any stolen funds that are recovered would go into the pool. Those amounts are potential funding sources, not a guarantee that the pool has already received them.
The eventual recovery rate will depend on the size and timing of those contributions, whether any stolen funds are actually recovered, and how many DFX remain outstanding when deposits occur. A larger pool divided by a smaller outstanding supply would push the redemption value up; a large pool divided by a supply that stays near the fixed maximum would keep it low.
The claim deadline and what happens to unclaimed tokens
The claim window closes at 00:00 UTC on January 1, 2028. Any DFX not claimed by that deadline will be permanently burned. That burn would reduce the outstanding supply, which mechanically raises the redemption value for everyone who did claim — but only if the pool balance holds steady or grows.
For now, the key numbers are the ones users can act on: 299,500,810.998 total DFX, roughly 3.1 million USDT in the pool at launch, and a redemption rate near 0.0104 USDT per token that will keep shifting as deposits and redemptions come in. The next concrete checkpoint is the daily Velocity revenue contributions and whether they start to close the distance between the pool's current size and the 147.5 million USDT in potential support Drift has pointed to.
