Drift Protocol launched claims and redemptions for its DFX recovery token on October 1, enabling victims of the April exploit to claim USDT from the Recovery Pool. Redeemed tokens are permanently burned, forfeiting any future share of deposits.
At launch, Drift quoted a payout of approximately 0.0104 USDT per DFX from a pool holding roughly 3.1 million USDT. Since victims receive one DFX per USDT of verified loss, that initial rate represented about 1.04% of the corresponding loss. The October 1 figures are snapshots; the actual redemption rate is quoted at the time of transaction.
DFX is a Solana-based token distinct from the DRIFT governance token. Drift allocated a fixed supply of 299,500,810.998 DFX, representing nearly 299.5 million USDT in verified losses. Outstanding supply decreases as tokens are burned.
What redemption gives up
The USDT payment and DFX burn occur in a single atomic transaction: both succeed or neither does. Drift states that completed redemptions are final. Partial redemption leaves the remaining tokens in the pool, continuing to participate.
Future deposits are distributed among the remaining DFX. Cashing out locks in the recovery amount for burned tokens while surrendering any share of subsequent revenue or recovered funds. Selling DFX on a secondary market such as Raydium transfers ownership without redeeming against the pool, preserving participation in future deposits whose size and timing are uncertain.
The dashboard defines redemption price as pool balance divided by outstanding DFX. Redemption removes cash and burns tokens proportionally, keeping that ratio constant. New deposits increase the redeemable amount per remaining token.
Drift restated its support plan in the October 1 update: up to 127.5 million USDT from Tether for relaunch and user recovery, plus up to 20 million USDT from strategic partners. Those ceilings do not reflect cash already available for redemption.
Tether’s April 16 announcement said capital would be introduced progressively, aligned with platform performance. The recovery framework includes a revenue-linked credit facility, ecosystem grant, and market-maker loans—financing that supports a relaunch without making the full headline amount immediately available to DFX holders.
Drift directs a share of net protocol revenue from the Velocity trading platform into the pool daily at 00:00 UTC, along with any recovered stolen funds. Further recovery depends on those deposits arriving; the commitments are not a guarantee that each victim will recover their full loss.
The DFX claim window closes January 1, 2028, at 00:00 UTC, at which point unclaimed DFX will be permanently burned. That is a claim deadline, not a redemption deadline. Insurance Fund claims follow separate terms.