DRIFT fluctuated 94.2% in 24 hours: DriftProtocol suffered a $280M hack, causing the price to plunge over 40%

Volatility Brief

DRIFT experienced extreme price fluctuations in the past 24 hours, reaching as high as $0.0732 and falling to as low as $0.0377. The current price is $0.0468, with a price swing of 94.2%. Trading volume surged significantly, with some exchanges recording a 24-hour trading volume of $23.7 million, far exceeding regular levels.

Analysis of Price Movement Causes

- Protocol hacked: Drift Protocol confirmed that administrator multisig keys were compromised, allowing attackers to create fake collateral CVT tokens and manipulate lending limits (from $25 million to $500 million), draining around $280 million in assets, including USDC, JLP, SOL, and cbBTC.

- Not a smart contract flaw: The incident was caused by private key compromise rather than a smart contract bug. Deposits have been frozen and the team has committed to updates.

Market Views and Outlook

The prevailing community sentiment is panic, with X platform discussions focused on “private key leakage” and “liquidity evaporation.” $DRIFT fell over 40% intraday, and analysts warn of continued volatility. If the support at $0.04175 fails, prices may drop further; if it rebounds, the $0.06275 resistance can be targeted. Short-term risk remains bearish, and attention should be paid to subsequent official audits and withdrawal recovery.