DRIFT (DRIFT) plunged 51.2% in 24 hours to $0.0433: DriftProtocol suffers $285 million hack

Volatility Overview

In the past 24 hours, DRIFT’s price surged to a peak of $0.057 before sharply plunging to a low of $0.0377. It is currently trading at $0.0433, with a fluctuation range reaching 51.2%. 24-hour trading volume expanded significantly, DEX volume ranging from approximately $15 million to $78 million. Total protocol trading volume exceeded $75 million, surging over 27.52% from normal levels. On-chain data shows abnormal large outflows of funds, with attackers having bridged part of the assets to Ethereum.

Brief Analysis of Abnormal Movements

- Drift Protocol Hack: On April 1, 2026, the perpetual contract DEX Drift Protocol on Solana was hacked, resulting in a loss of approximately $285 million—the largest DeFi exploit of 2026. The attacker is suspected of exploiting an admin key compromise and oracle manipulation to create fake collateral and drain the main treasury (including USDC, SOL, JLP, etc.).

- Fund Flow Tracking: After converting stolen funds to USDC and bridging them to ETH, the attacker has purchased more than 19,900 ETH (about $42.6 million) and deposited it into CEX.

- Protocol Response: The team confirmed the incident is not an April Fools’ joke. Deposits have been frozen and services suspended. TVL has plummeted from $550 million.

Market Perspectives and Outlook

The dominant sentiment in the community is panic. X discussions focus on “DRIFT plunging over 40%, breaking through historical lows,” with pervasive suspicions of internal compromise or systemic security flaws. The short-term outlook is bearish, with concerns about further sell-offs and damaged confidence in the Solana ecosystem. Analysts advise closely tracking team communications and fund recovery progress, as recovery is challenging and high volatility may persist in the short term.