BlockBeats News, April 2nd, according to CoinDesk’s report, blockchain analysis company Elliptic stated that the Drift Protocol suffered a $285 million loss in an attack, with “multiple signs” pointing to a DPRK-backed hacker group. Elliptic focused on on-chain behavior, money laundering techniques, and network-level signals, all of which were consistent with previous state-sponsored attacks. The Elliptic report stated: “If confirmed, this would be the 18th DPRK-linked attack Elliptic has traced this year, totaling over $300 million stolen to date.”
On a technical level, Elliptic’s analysis described this attack as “premeditated and well-orchestrated,” with early test transactions and pre-positioned wallets prior to the main attack. After the attack was executed, funds were rapidly consolidated and moved through cross-chain transfers, converted into more liquid assets, forming an organized, repeatable money laundering process designed to obfuscate the source of funds while maintaining control.
This event involved over ten asset types, with funds moving from Solana to Ethereum and other chains, further highlighting the importance of cross-chain tracing capabilities. Drift Protocol is the largest decentralized perpetual contract trading platform on the Solana blockchain, and its token has dropped over 40% to around $0.06 since the hack.
