- Blockchain sleuths flagged that over $270 million left Drift Protocol on Wednesday.
- The Solana-based trading platform has said it is investigating “unusual activity.”
- Solana ecosystem bigwigs have advised people not to use the platform for now.
Trading platform Drift Protocol said Wednesday that it was investigating “unusual activity” and advised users not to deposit funds into the protocol following news of a potential $270 million exploit.
The Solana-based perpetual futures exchange’s native token, DRIFT, dropped sharply on the news. CoinGecko data shows it was trading hands for a little over $0.05 after dropping 11% over a 24-hour period.
“This is not an April Fools joke,” Solana-based app’s team wrote via its official X account. “Proceed with caution until further notice.”
We are observing unusual activity on the protocol. We are currently investigating. Please do not deposit funds into the protocol while we investigate. This is not an April Fools joke. Proceed with caution until further notice. We’ll provide additional updates from this account.
— Drift (@DriftProtocol) April 1, 2026
DL News reached out to Drift Protocol with questions but did not immediately receive a response.
Blockchain sleuths first posted on X Wednesday afternoon New York time that money was fast leaving the protocol. Blockchain data firm Arkham Intelligence, which tracks the DeFi platform’s vault, shows that its balance plunged on Wednesday.
Hi @driftprotocol, you may want to take a look: https://t.co/7ATmq4GJ5P
— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) April 1, 2026
Top names in the Solana ecosystem, including Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana developer platform Helius, were also quick to warn traders of the potential exploit.
not 100% fully certain yet, but it seems drift might be getting exploited
monitor your positions https://t.co/xaHqJNDHg2
— mert (@mert) April 1, 2026
Over $270 million in crypto — mostly in the form Jupiter Perps — left the protocol, according to blockchain sleuths.
Tens of millions of dollars worth of USDC, Fartcoin, and Wrapped Ethereum were also moved.
Drift Protocol is a non-custodial trading platform allowing users to use leverage without an expiry date.
Drift Labs, the firm behind the trading platform, in 2024 announced it was debuting a prediction markets platform to rival Polymarket.
Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.
