Drift Protocol reported on Sunday that it lost $295 million in a crypto hack, pointing the finger at North Korean state-backed hackers. The DeFi platform said most of the stolen funds remain visible on the blockchain and that it's already working on a repayment plan to make affected users whole.
The attack and the trail
The exploit hit Drift's smart contracts on Saturday. The attackers drained $295 million from the platform's liquidity pools. Drift's team said they quickly identified the breach and traced the movement of funds. They claim the majority of stolen assets are still trackable on-chain — not yet mixed or laundered. That's a sliver of hope in a hack of this size.
Drift directly blamed the North Korean hacking group for the theft. That's a familiar accusation in crypto. North Korean-linked hackers have been behind some of the biggest heists in recent years, including the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February.
The repayment plan
Drift said it has already drafted a repayment plan. The details are light — no timeline or full breakdown yet — but the protocol promised to make all affected users whole. The company is holding a community call on Tuesday to walk through the proposal.
The timing isn't great. The broader market has been jittery, and a $295 million hole in one of the larger DeFi protocols doesn't help. But Drift is at least moving fast, which matters for user trust.
What happens now
The real question is whether Drift can actually recover the funds. Traceability is one thing; getting them back is another. Law enforcement might be involved, but the facts don't say that. For now, users wait until Tuesday's call for specifics on the repayment plan.
