CryptoSlate
A wallet Etherscan labels “Drift Exploiter 5” deposited 25,710 ETH into Tornado Cash on Oct. 20, moving about $63.1 million in 258 transactions. The sequence took two hours and 13 minutes and left the wallet with under 4 ETH. Drift says recovered stolen funds go to its Recovery Pool.
Why it matters
The transfers came more than six months after the April 1 exploit. Drift initially estimated that about $280 million had been withdrawn. The protocol said the attacker took over Security Council administrative powers, using durable nonce accounts to pre-sign and delay transactions. Drift said its investigation had not found a bug in its programs or smart contracts. A June 4 update said Mandiant attributed the attack to North Korean threat group UNC6862.
Tornado Cash deposits make this wallet’s transfers visible on-chain, but they do not establish how much of the stolen money can ultimately be recovered. Drift says recovered assets from freezes, its bounty or law enforcement enter the Recovery Pool, alongside a share of net protocol revenue.
Market impact
Drift opened DFX claims and redemptions on Oct. 1, allocating one DFX for each USDT of verified loss. The USDT paid depends on the redemption quote; submitted DFX are burned, and redemption gives up those tokens’ participation in future pool deposits. As of Oct. 4, the quote was about 0.0104 USDT per DFX.
Drift’s April 16 proposal contemplated up to $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners. The Oct. 20 transfers clarify where this wallet’s ETH went, but leave the amount that may reach the Recovery Pool unresolved.
Frequently asked questions
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How much ETH did the Drift-linked wallet send to Tornado Cash?
The wallet deposited 25,710 ETH, worth about $63.1 million based on Ethereum’s average price of $2,450 on Oct. 20.
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How were the Tornado Cash deposits split?
The wallet made 258 successful deposits: 257 deposits of 100 ETH each and a final deposit of 10 ETH.
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What does Drift say happened in the April 1 exploit?
Drift described a takeover of Security Council administrative powers using durable nonce accounts to pre-sign and delay transactions. Its June 4 update said Mandiant attributed the attack to UNC6862.
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How does Drift's DFX redemption system work?
Drift allocated one DFX for each USDT of verified loss. Holders can redeem for USDT at the quoted rate, and the submitted DFX are burned in the transaction.
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How much was the DFX redemption quote on Oct. 4?
The Oct. 1 quote was about 0.0104 USDT per DFX as of Oct. 4. The payout depends on the quote at the time of redemption.
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