Drift Hack Exploiter Moves $109M in ETH Through Tornado Cash
The exploiter of the $295M Drift hack has laundered $109M in ETH via Tornado Cash while retaining $138M in tracked wallets.
The exploiter of the $295M Drift hack has laundered $109M in ETH via Tornado Cash while retaining $138M in tracked wallets. Ethereum (ETH) is trading at ₹2,35,080 ($2,474.65), down 0.3% since this brief published. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 2 outlets (Crypto.news, Cointelegraph), with their figures cross-checked, plus live market data, as of Wed, 21 Oct 2026 23:45:01 UTC.
This large-scale movement of stolen funds through Tornado Cash highlights the ongoing challenges in tracking and recovering funds from major DeFi exploits, despite increased regulatory scrutiny on crypto mixers.
- Drift exploiter has laundered $109M in ETH through Tornado Cash.
- Remaining $138M in stolen funds still held in tracked wallets.
- Tornado Cash TVL rises 22.4% in past week to $836.19M.
Crypto.news and Cointelegraph both report that the exploiter of the $295 million Drift hack has moved $109 million in ETH through Tornado Cash while retaining $138 million in tracked wallets. However, Cointelegraph specifies that the $46 million transfer occurred on Wednesday, while Crypto.news does not provide a specific timeline for the transfers beyond stating they occurred over two days.
- Drift Protocol Hacker Moves $61M in Ethereum to Tornado Cash
- Drift Hack Exploiter Moves $109M in ETH Through Tornado Cash — this brief
The exploiter of the $295 million Drift hack has moved a significant portion of the stolen funds through Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer known for its privacy features. According to multiple outlets, $109 million in Ether has been transferred through the mixer over a period of two days.
Despite the large transfer, a substantial amount of the stolen funds remains in wallets linked to the exploiter. Both Crypto.news and Cointelegraph report that $138 million in ETH is still held in these tracked wallets.
The use of Tornado Cash for laundering the stolen funds is notable given the increased regulatory scrutiny on crypto mixers. The U.S. Treasury Department has previously sanctioned Tornado Cash, alleging it has been used to launder billions of dollars in illicit funds.
In the broader context, the Drift hack is one of the largest DeFi exploits this year, with the exploiter taking advantage of a vulnerability in the platform's smart contracts. The hack occurred in April and resulted in the loss of $295 million.
The total crypto market cap currently stands at $2.89 trillion, with 
Bitcoin and 
Ethereum both showing modest gains over the past 24 hours. The Fear & Greed Index is at 63, indicating a state of 'Greed' among investors.
Since this brief published about 12 hours ago, Ethereum (ETH) has moved from ₹2,35,734.43$2,481.54 to ₹2,35,079.91$2,474.65 — -0.28%.
The chart plots ETH's price: grey is the move before this brief published, the vertical dashed line marks the moment it published, the horizontal dashed line is the price then, and the coloured area is the move since — from Token Times's market data (daily resolution). It shows what happened after the news, not that the news caused it; many factors move prices. Not financial advice.
At today's peer-to-peer rate, 1 ETH ≈ ₹257,487.33 (about $2,474.65), up 1.2% over 24 hours. The rupee itself trades about 9.5% above the official rate on the P2P market, so a Indian buyer's effective cost differs from the headline dollar price.
Live market data
Current prices for the asset in this story — live, source-stamped, updated every 15 minutes.
2 key figures independently matched across 2 outlets reporting this story.
Token Times extracts the figures each outlet reports and flags the ones that agree. Numbers cited by only one outlet are attributed in the brief, not shown as corroborated.
Figures and sectors in this story, checked live against on-chain aggregators · October 21, 2026.
Token Times reads these figures directly from on-chain aggregators (DeFiLlama, mempool.space) at build time — independent of what any outlet reported. Sector totals aggregate every protocol DeFiLlama tracks in that category. Values are live and will change.
Drift Hack Exploiter Moves $109M in ETH Through Tornado Cash — questions & answers
How much ETH was stolen in the Drift hack?
The Drift hack resulted in the theft of $295 million in ETH.
What is Tornado Cash?
Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency mixer that allows users to enhance transaction privacy by mixing their coins with others.
Why is the use of Tornado Cash significant?
The use of Tornado Cash is significant because it complicates the tracking and potential recovery of stolen funds, despite regulatory actions against the mixer.
How much is 1 Ethereum worth in rupee today?
About ₹257,487.33 at the live peer-to-peer (P2P) USDT rate, which is what Indians typically trade at — equivalent to roughly $2,474.65. The rupee price moves with both ETH's US-dollar price and the USDT/INR rate; use our Ethereum in rupee page for any amount.
Has Ethereum's price moved since this brief was published?
ETH is down 0.28% since this brief first published — trading at ₹2,35,080 ($2,474.65) now versus ₹2,35,734 ($2,481.54) at publication. Token Times re-checks this figure against CoinGecko and Binance every 15 minutes.
Which outlets reported this story?
This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Crypto.news, Cointelegraph, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.
Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.