Drift Protocol protocol
Overview
Drift Protocol is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on Solana, utilizing a hybrid order book and virtual automated market maker (vAMM) model. It enables traders to speculate on asset prices with leverage, cross-margin support, and features such as limit orders, take-profit/stop-loss orders, and liquidity pools. The protocol is governed by a DAO and integrates with the Solana ecosystem.
On 1 April 2026, Drift suffered a DPRK-linked exploit that drained roughly $285–295M (over half of its total value locked) via pre-signed Solana durable-nonce transactions that seized control of the protocol multisig. Tether and partners committed up to about $147.5M toward a user-recovery pool, USDT replaced USDC as the settlement asset, and Drift is undergoing a security-first relaunch (as of 2026-07-15).
Within the DeFi Intel graph, Drift Protocol connects to 8 tracked entities, most strongly to Solana, DRIFT, Jupiter Perpetual Exchange.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 8 of 8 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
deployed_on | Solana | 95% |
deployed-on | Solana | 95% |
supports_token | DRIFT | 95% |
governed-by-token | DRIFT | 95% |
competes-with | Jupiter Perpetual Exchange | 95% |
operates | Drift Staked SOL | 95% |
founded_by | Cindy Leow | 95% |
developed_by | Drift Labs | 85% |
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is Drift Protocol?
Drift Protocol is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on Solana, using a hybrid order book and virtual automated market maker (vAMM) model for leveraged trading with cross-margin support.
What chain does Drift Protocol run on?
Drift Protocol is deployed on the Solana blockchain.
Who founded Drift Protocol?
Drift Protocol was founded by Cindy Leow.