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Drift angers users by returning insurance fund stakes while exploit victims wait

The exchange says insurance fund depositors will be able to withdraw when the protocol relaunches, angering victims still waiting for compensation.

Drift, a Solana-based decentralized exchange recovering from a nearly $300 million exploit, is facing fresh anger after saying insurance fund depositors will be able to withdraw their stake when the protocol relaunches.

The protocol said in a May 20 post on X that its insurance fund was "unaffected by the exploit" because Drift was paused before losses moved through the bankruptcy process, so users will be able to withdraw their insurance fund stake when the protocol goes live.

"Given that the protocol was paused before losses resolved through the ordinary liquidation or bankruptcy paths, the Insurance Fund was and remains unaffected by the exploit. Users will be able to withdraw their Insurance Fund stake when the protocol goes live."

Drift

But that answer didn't calm everyone. Some argued that insurance fund depositors are being made whole while affected users are still waiting on recovery tokens, outside support and future protocol revenue.

"So Insurance Fund depositors get their money back, but affected users get recovery tokens and promises?" one user wrote under Drift's post. Another asked why the insurance fund exists if it isn't used when the protocol is effectively bankrupt.

  • The insurance fund issue sits on top of an already tense recovery debate.
  • On May 12, the Drift Foundation posted DIP-10, a governance proposal that would let the foundation convert all remaining spot assets in Drift's borrow-lend pool into stablecoins as the initial reserve for a recovery pool.
  • That proposal also drew pushback because some users don't see the remaining borrow-lend assets as a shared compensation pot.
  • They argue that users whose assets weren't drained shouldn't have what remains converted to cover broader losses.
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