Crypto Shockwave: Circle Sued As $280 Million Drift Hack Unravels

bitcoinistОпубліковано о 2026-04-17Востаннє оновлено о 2026-04-17

Анотація

A class action lawsuit has been filed in a Massachusetts federal court against Circle Internet Financial, alleging the stablecoin issuer was negligent and aided in the theft of $280 million from the Drift Protocol. The plaintiffs, representing over 100 investors, argue Circle had the means to stop the stolen USDC from being moved across blockchains using its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol but failed to act. They point to Circle's prior action of freezing wallets in a separate civil case as proof it could have intervened. The April 1st hack is attributed to North Korean state-backed actors who moved the funds to Ethereum and laundered them through Tornado Cash. The case raises significant questions about the responsibility of centralized entities in the decentralized crypto ecosystem.

North Korean hackers likely pocketed hundreds of millions in stolen crypto — and now a US court is being asked to decide whether a stablecoin giant should have stopped them.

Circle’s Own Track Record Becomes A Key Weapon

A class action lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts federal court this week names Circle Internet Group as the defendant, with plaintiffs arguing the company had both the means and the opportunity to stop roughly $280 million in stolen USDC from moving across blockchains — and did nothing.

The case was brought by Drift Protocol investor Joshua McCollum, representing more than 100 affected members. Their attorneys put it plainly: Circle allowed criminal use of its own technology.

The complaint was filed Wednesday in a Massachusetts US district court by Drift investor Joshua McCollum, representing more than 100 members.

The April 1 attack on Drift Protocol saw attackers drain funds and route them from Solana to Ethereum using Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, a bridging tool the company operates. The transfers happened over several hours, according to reports. The window was wide open.

What makes the lawsuit particularly pointed is what happened just days before the hack. About a week prior, Circle froze 16 USDC wallets tied to a sealed US civil case. Plaintiffs seized on that detail. If Circle could move fast for a court-adjacent matter, they argue, it could have acted here too. That single fact sits at the center of the legal fight.

I hope there’s some precedent set. Either you’re a decentralized protocol and literally do not have the power to freeze or you’re not and you should be freezing hacked funds. This middle ground hand wavy “only with a court order” stuff is weak. Misses the forest for the trees https://t.co/TqzOYKZOvm

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) April 16, 2026

Accusations Range From Negligence To Aiding The Crime

The suit carries two main charges: negligence and aiding and abetting conversion — a legal term for helping someone unlawfully take another person’s property. The law firm Mira Gibb is handling the case for McCollum and the other Drift investors. Damages have not yet been set and will be determined at trial.

BTCUSD trading at $75,081 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView

Circle has not responded to requests for comment.

Crypto analytics firm Elliptic flagged the attack as the work of North Korean state-backed operatives. Based on Elliptic’s analysis, the hackers executed more than 100 transactions through Circle’s bridging infrastructure during regular US business hours. After moving the funds to Ethereum, the stolen assets were converted and pushed through Tornado Cash, a privacy protocol used to obscure transaction trails.

Image: SOPA Images/Getty Images

ARK Invest Defends Circle, But The Moral Stakes Remain High

Not everyone is pointing fingers at Circle. Lorenzo Valente, ARK Invest’s director of digital asset research, argued that Circle made the right call by not acting without a legal order.

His concern: give a company like Circle the power to freeze funds on judgment alone, and every decision becomes political. He questioned aloud where the line would be drawn — between a North Korean hacker and a suspicious wallet elsewhere in the world.

Featured image from B&G Lawyers, chart from TradingView

Трендові криптовалюти

CitreaCTR

wrapped stUSDTWSTUSDT

Пов'язані питання

QWhat is the main allegation against Circle Internet Group in the class action lawsuit?

AThe plaintiffs allege that Circle had both the means and the opportunity to stop roughly $280 million in stolen USDC from moving across blockchains but did nothing, thereby allowing criminal use of its technology.

QWhich hacking group is suspected to be behind the $280 million attack on Drift Protocol?

ACrypto analytics firm Elliptic flagged the attack as the work of North Korean state-backed operatives.

QWhat key precedent from just days before the hack do the plaintiffs use to strengthen their case against Circle?

AThe plaintiffs point out that about a week prior to the hack, Circle froze 16 USDC wallets tied to a sealed US civil case, arguing that if Circle could act quickly in that instance, it could have acted to stop the stolen funds.

QWhat are the two main legal charges brought against Circle in the lawsuit?

AThe two main charges are negligence and aiding and abetting conversion, which is a legal term for helping someone unlawfully take another person's property.

QWhat was the primary method the hackers used to obscure the trail of the stolen funds after the attack?

AAfter moving the funds to Ethereum, the stolen assets were converted and pushed through Tornado Cash, a privacy protocol used to obscure transaction trails.

Пов'язані матеріали

Platform Token Surges 15-Fold in Half a Month, Pons Tops Both Token Issuance and Trading on Robinhood Chain

The article details the rapid rise of Pons as the leading token launch and trading platform on Robinhood Chain. Following NOXA's halt of new token issuance, several platforms vied for the resulting traffic. By mid-July, Pons surged ahead, achieving the highest daily token creation volume (over 15,000 tokens on July 15th) and soon after capturing the largest daily trading volume ($40.7M on July 18th), consistently maintaining both top positions. Pons's key advantage is its streamlined, single-transaction process that deploys a token's contract and its Uniswap V3 liquidity pool simultaneously, eliminating the need for bonding curves or subsequent DEX migrations. This simplicity caters to the demand for fast, low-cost launches on Robinhood Chain. The platform's native token, PONS, played a pivotal role in its growth, experiencing a price surge of over 15x from mid-July. A tokenomics model that uses 80% of protocol fees to buy back and burn PONS has contributed to its value and heightened platform visibility. Looking ahead, Pons V2 aims to expand beyond meme tokens by integrating support for paying transaction fees with assets like USDG or RWA tokens, aligning with Robinhood Chain's focus on on-chain finance and real-world assets.

marsbit37 хв тому

Platform Token Surges 15-Fold in Half a Month, Pons Tops Both Token Issuance and Trading on Robinhood Chain

marsbit37 хв тому

Apple's Q3 Results Largely Meet Expectations, Supply and Memory Pressure Drive After-Hours Drop of 6%

Apple's Q3 (FY2026) earnings largely met expectations, but weak guidance and rising costs drove the stock down 6.3% after hours. Revenue of $109.42B slightly beat estimates, and EPS of $2.02 was boosted by a $0.11 tariff refund. Core EPS was $1.91, aligning with forecasts. iPhone and Mac sales were strong, but iPad and Services revenue fell short. Greater China growth slowed. The outlook for the next quarter is concerning. Apple guided for 9-11% revenue growth, below the ~12% consensus, citing significant supply constraints for iPhones, Macs, and iPads due to advanced chip shortages. Gross margin guidance of 47-48% includes a 1-point tariff benefit, implying a core margin of 46-47%, down from 48.1% this quarter. Management highlighted rising memory costs as a major pressure point. While Apple's AI initiatives like Siri are progressing, monetization remains early. With the stock near all-time highs, the combination of in-line results, segment weaknesses, and a cautious outlook triggered significant profit-taking. The focus has shifted from resilient demand to supply chain execution and cost management.

marsbit42 хв тому

Apple's Q3 Results Largely Meet Expectations, Supply and Memory Pressure Drive After-Hours Drop of 6%

marsbit42 хв тому

Platform Token Soars 15x in Half a Month, Pons Tops Robinhood Chain Charts for Both Token Launches and Trading

In just half a month, the Pons platform token (PONS) surged over 15x in value as Pons solidified its position as the leading token launch and trading platform on Robinhood Chain, capturing both the highest daily token creation volume and transaction volume. Following the exit of previous leader NOXA, competition initially favored Flap before Pons emerged dominant around mid-July. By July 26th, Pons accounted for 77.1% of total trading volume across all Robinhood Chain launchpads. Pons's success is attributed to its streamlined, one-transaction process for deploying a token contract and its corresponding Uniswap V3 liquidity pool simultaneously, eliminating the need for bonding curves or complex migrations. This simplicity, combined with low creation costs and immediate tradability, attracted significant creation activity and speculative trading. The meteoric rise of its native token, PONS, further fueled platform growth. A tokenomics model directing 80% of protocol fees to buy back and burn PONS created a reinforcing cycle: platform usage boosted PONS value, which in turn attracted more users. Looking ahead, Pons V2 aims to expand beyond meme tokens by integrating support for paying fees in stablecoins (USDG) and RWA assets, aligning with Robinhood Chain's broader focus on on-chain finance and stock tokens.

Odaily星球日报42 хв тому

Platform Token Soars 15x in Half a Month, Pons Tops Robinhood Chain Charts for Both Token Launches and Trading

Odaily星球日报42 хв тому

Qualcomm Chip Price Hike Deals a Blow to Android Phones

Qualcomm has officially announced a new round of price increases for its entire chip portfolio, effective September 1. The hikes, reaching up to 18% for the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, follow similar moves by MediaTek, intensifying cost pressures on the already strained smartphone industry. CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed the plan, citing the need to offset rising industry-wide costs and restore declining profit margins. Qualcomm's Q3 FY2026 results showed a 25% drop in net profit, with mobile revenue plunging 20% year-over-year, hitting its lowest level since 2021. The surge in AI computing demand has led memory manufacturers to prioritize HBM production, creating a shortage in general-purpose DRAM and NAND Flash chips. Their prices soared by 93%-98% and 55%-60% respectively in Q1 2026, causing the memory cost share in smartphones to jump from 10%-15% to over 30%. Coupled with the soaring cost of advanced nodes like TSMC's 2nm and packaging, overall chip costs have reached historic highs. These upstream pressures are forcing downstream smartphone brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo to cut orders for mid-to-low-end models by up to 20% and use cost-saving measures like older chipsets. Reportedly, the Snapdragon 8E5 will be repurposed as a "long-lasting" chip for sub-brand phones in H2 2026. Amid this cost crisis, the Android market remains sluggish. Q2 2026 smartphone shipments in China fell 4.3% year-over-year, marking five consecutive quarters of decline. Major Android brands saw market share drop, while Huawei and Apple, with their in-house chip advantages, gained share. Qualcomm is diversifying into automotive and IoT sectors to reduce reliance on smartphones, but these new segments cannot yet fill the mobile revenue gap. Industry observers warn that the full impact of component cost hikes will hit in the second half of 2026, likely leading to higher-than-expected price increases for Android flagships and a further contraction in the Chinese smartphone market.

marsbit53 хв тому

Qualcomm Chip Price Hike Deals a Blow to Android Phones

marsbit53 хв тому

Breaking: GPT-5.6 Prices Slashed Effective Today

OpenAI has announced significant price cuts for its GPT-5.6 model API, effective immediately. The entry-level **GPT-5.6 Luna** sees the most drastic reduction, with input prices dropping 80% to $0.20 per million tokens and output prices falling to $1.20 per million tokens. The mid-tier **GPT-5.6 Terra** is reduced by 20%, now costing $2.00 (input) and $12.00 (output) per million tokens. The flagship **GPT-5.6 Sol** maintains its original price but introduces a new **Fast mode**, offering speeds up to 2.5 times faster for double the cost. The company attributes these price reductions to efficiency gains achieved through **GPT-5.6 Sol's own involvement in optimizing its production systems**. The model assisted in rewriting GPU kernels and improving speculative decoding, leading to a 20% reduction in end-to-end service costs and over 15% improvement in token generation efficiency. OpenAI emphasizes this process remained human-led. A key focus of the降价 is to lower the barrier for running **AI agent workflows**. By making the capable, tool-calling Luna model significantly cheaper, OpenAI aims to enable more frequent use in cost-sensitive, high-volume tasks like code review and monitoring. This creates a potential feedback loop: model-assisted efficiency gains lead to lower costs, which enables broader agent deployment, which in turn drives further optimization. The new pricing and features will also apply to Codex and ChatGPT Work subscriptions. The changes intensify competition in the large language model market, with OpenAI directly challenging rivals like Anthropic to respond.

marsbit1 год тому

Breaking: GPT-5.6 Prices Slashed Effective Today