Circle Internet Group faces class action over failure to stop Drift Protocol exploit funds

Circle is accused of failing to freeze exploit-linked transfers. Approximately $230 million in stolen funds was routed through Circle’s USDC. Drift plans $147.5 million recovery backed by future revenue. Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is facing a class action lawsuit over its alleged failure to stop the movement of stolen funds linked to the Drift Protocol exploit. The lawsuit, filed by Drift investor Joshua McCollum at the US district court in Massachusetts on behalf of over 100 impacted users, centres on whether the company had both the ability and the obligation to intervene as the exploit unfolded. Lawsuit targets Circle’s role in fund transfers The legal action stems from the April 2026 breach of Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralised exchange, where attackers drained roughly $285 million. A significant portion of those funds, estimated at around $230 million, was quickly converted into USDC. From there, the funds were moved across chains, primarily from Solana to Ethereum , using cross-chain infrastructure. The transfers were not instantaneous. They occurred over several hours and were split into more than 100 transactions. This detail sits at the centre of the lawsuit. Plaintiffs argue that Circle had a window of opportunity to act. According to the claim, the company could have frozen the affected wallets or halted the transfers, limiting the damage. Instead, the funds continued moving until they were fully out of reach. The case accuses Circle of negligence and of indirectly facilitating the loss by failing to act despit