Key insights
- Circle faces a class action lawsuit for allegedly failing to freeze $230M in stolen USDC after the Drift Protocol hack. The lawsuit claims Circle had the capability and authority to prevent the transfer of funds, potentially impacting investor confidence in Circle and the broader stablecoin market. However, the overall impact on US equities is expected to be limited.
Investing.com-- Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to freeze stolen funds following a major hack of the Drift Protocol.
The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. district court in Massachusetts, claims Circle allowed attackers to move about $230 million worth of USDC stablecoin after a roughly $280 million exploit of Drift Protocol on April 1.
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Plaintiffs allege Circle had both the technical capability and contractual authority to freeze the funds but failed to act as the assets were transferred across blockchains using its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol over several hours.
The complaint accuses the company of negligence and aiding unlawful conversion, arguing that timely intervention could have significantly reduced investor losses.
The hack, one of the largest in 2026, saw attackers drain hundreds of millions of dollars from Drift Protocol, triggering sharp declines in the platform’s total value locked and impacting multiple decentralized finance platforms.