Drift Protocol has suffered a major hack that caused the platform to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Elliptic reported that the Drift Protocol’s attack may be linked to actors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The firm said the patterns seen in the hack are very similar to the techniques used in the past operations tied to the country.
The incident happened on the 1st of April 2026 and resulted in the loss of about $286 million in crypto assets. This hack is currently one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks of the year and a major blow to the Solana ecosystem.
Elliptic has noted that if Drift Protocol’s attack is linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it would be the eighteenth crypto-related operation connected to North Korea this year alone. In total, these hack activities have already led to the loss of more than $300 million in 2026, adding to an estimated $6.5 billion stolen over recent years.
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The United States government has previously connected these organized crypto scam activities to funding weapons programs in North Korea. And in general, the whole network has raised concerns about the role of cybercrime in global security threats.
How the Drift Protocol Attack Happened
The attack happened so quickly, with the hacker draining most of Drift Protocol’s funds within an hour. According to PeckShield, the breach likely occurred after the attacker gained access to the platform’s administrator private keys.
This access allowed the attacker to control the main functions of the platform, including withdrawing funds and changing system settings. During the hacking process, about three major vaults were targeted, including those linked to staking and liquidity strategies.
Source: Elliptic
One of the largest transactions involved over $150 million worth of tokens. Other stolen assets included cryptocurrencies like USDC, SOL, and Bitcoin-based tokens. Following the attack, Drift’s total value locked dropped from around $550 million to below $250 million. Highlighting the scale of the damage and the loss of users’ confidence.
The Drift team later confirmed the attack and paused deposits and withdrawals. They also said they are working with security partners and exchanges to limit any further damage.
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