Circle Faces Lawsuit Over $230M USDC Transfers in Drift Protocol Exploit

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Circle Internet Group, alleging the company's failure to halt the movement of funds stolen in the recent Drift Protocol exploit. The lawsuit claims that Circle allowed attackers to move approximately $230 million in USDC across chains without intervention.

The incident is part of a larger DeFi hack where over $285 million was siphoned from Solana-based Drift Protocol. Drift investor Joshua McCollum has brought the case on behalf of more than 100 affected users, alleging that Circle permitted the 'criminal use of its technology and services'.

The lawsuit accuses Circle of negligence and aiding and abetting conversion, with damages to be determined at trial. Legal representatives from Mira Gibb have pointed to earlier enforcement actions to support their argument that Circle had the technical ability to intervene.