Velocity Review 2026

DEX ☆ 2.5 Updated: 2026-10-04

TL;DR

Velocity, formerly Drift, is a non-custodial Solana perpetuals exchange with USDT settlement, four perpetual markets and up to 20x leverage. It reopened to all users on September 21, 2026 after a 286 million dollar exploit on April 1, 2026 and an OtterSec audit. Users hit by the exploit have recovered about 1 percent of their losses so far through the DFX recovery token, so the exchange remains in recovery.

Last updated: 2026-10-04 Sources: https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/trading-fees, https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/margin, https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/order-types, https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/rewards, https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/risk-and-safety/audits, https://velocity.exchange, https://dfx.drift.trade, The Block: Drift opens exploit recovery claims with initial payouts of just over 1% of user losses (October 2, 2026), Solana Compass: Drift DFX claims live, recovery token redeems for 0.0104 USDT (October 2026), Solana Compass: Cindy Leow steps down from Drift Protocol, now Velocity DEX (September 29, 2026), CryptoTicker: Velocity replaces Drift, what changes for investors (2026), Elliptic: Drift Protocol exploited for $286M in suspected DPRK-linked attack (April 2026), DeFiLlama API (TVL, slug drift), CoinGecko API (derivatives exchange list, BTC price)

About Velocity

Velocity is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Solana, formerly Drift, that has operated under the Velocity name since July 1, 2026. It launched in 2021 and processed more than 150 billion dollars in cumulative trading volume before April 2026. Velocity is a fork of the Drift v2 program that combines USDT-settled perpetuals with a lending market in one cross-margin account. It lists BTC, ETH, SOL and HYPE perpetuals with up to 20x leverage and a base taker fee of 0.06%. On April 1, 2026, attackers gained control of Drift's administrator keys and drained about 286 million dollars from three core vaults in roughly 12 minutes. Mandiant and TRM Labs linked the attack to a North Korean group. Verified user losses are about 295.4 million dollars. Trading was suspended until a private beta opened on July 1, 2026, and the whitelist was removed on September 21, 2026, which opened the public beta to all users. OtterSec audited the post-fork code and reported 154 findings, none critical. Affected users have recovered little so far. Claims for the DFX recovery token opened on October 1, 2026, with each DFX redeemable for about 0.0104 USDT from a recovery pool of 3.11 million USDT. The pool receives 60% to 90% of Velocity's daily net protocol revenue. Tether committed up to 127.5 million USDT and partners up to 20 million USDT, and The Block reported on October 2, 2026 that these funds were not yet in the pool. Co-founder Cindy Leow stepped down on September 29, 2026.

KEY FACTS

CUSTODY: non-custodial
TAKER FEE: 0.06%
MAX LEVERAGE: 20x
NETWORKS: Solana
KYC REQUIRED: No
FOUNDED: 2021

Fee Structure

MARKET	TAKER	MAKER
Perpetuals	0.06%	-0.0025%
Best Tier	0.02%	-0.0025%

Leverage & Margin

MAX LEVERAGE 20x

BTC LEVERAGE 20x

MARGIN MODES cross-margin

Security

INSURANCE FUND Yes

PROOF OF RESERVES No

AUDITED Yes

Pros & Cons

PROS

+ Trading is open again: the public beta has been available to all users since September 21, 2026, with BTC, ETH and SOL perpetuals at up to 20x leverage and HYPE at up to 10x
+ Makers receive a 0.0025% rebate on post-only orders at every volume tier, and the taker fee falls from 0.06% to 0.02% above 200 million dollars in 30-day volume
+ One cross-margin account accepts USDT, SOL, wBTC and wETH as collateral, and deposits earn lending interest while they back positions
+ OtterSec audited the post-fork code and reported 154 findings with none critical; all 41 high-severity findings are fixed in the deployed program
+ A recovery pool receives 60% to 90% of daily net protocol revenue, and Tether committed up to 127.5 million USDT toward relaunch and user recovery

CONS

− About 286 million dollars was stolen on April 1, 2026 through compromised administrator keys, and verified user losses are about 295.4 million dollars
− Affected users have recovered about 1 percent so far: each DFX recovery token redeemed for about 0.0104 USDT from a 3.11 million USDT pool in early October 2026
− The relaunched exchange lists four perpetual markets, down from more than 40 before the exploit, and spot order book trading was removed
− The base taker fee rose from 0.035% to 0.06%, and maximum leverage dropped from 101x to 20x

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Velocity the same as Drift?

Yes. Drift rebranded to Velocity on July 1, 2026, and trading now happens at velocity.exchange. The rename came after April 1, 2026, when attackers took control of Drift's administrator keys and drained about 286 million dollars from three core vaults. Mandiant and TRM Labs linked the attack to a North Korean group. Verified user losses are about 295.4 million dollars.

Is Velocity safe to use right now?

Velocity reopened to the public on September 21, 2026 after an OtterSec audit that reported 154 findings, none critical. The exchange is still labelled a public beta, and victims of the April 2026 exploit have recovered about 1 percent of losses so far. Treat it as a high-risk venue and size deposits accordingly.

Is Velocity trading available after the 2026 exploit?

Yes. Perpetual trading resumed on Velocity, first in a private beta on July 1, 2026 and then for all users on September 21, 2026. Velocity lists BTC, ETH, SOL and HYPE perpetuals settled in USDT. Spot order book trading was removed, and trading now happens at velocity.exchange.

Will users affected by the Drift exploit get their money back from Velocity?

Only partly so far. Since October 1, 2026 affected users can claim one DFX token per USDT lost and redeem it from a recovery pool. The pool held 3.11 million USDT against about 295.4 million dollars in losses, so each DFX redeemed for about 0.0104 USDT. Tether's commitment of up to 127.5 million USDT was not yet deposited.

What are Velocity fees?

Velocity charges a 0.06% taker fee on perpetuals for accounts under 5 million dollars in 30-day volume and pays makers a 0.0025% rebate on post-only orders. Taker fees fall to 0.05%, 0.04% and 0.02% at higher tiers, with 0.02% above 200 million dollars. Individual markets can add up to 0.10% on top.

Does Velocity require KYC?

No. Velocity is a non-custodial exchange that users access by connecting a Solana wallet, and its documentation describes no identity verification step. Deposits stay in an on-chain account controlled by the user's wallet. Access can still depend on local law, so check the Terms of Use for your jurisdiction before trading.

What is the maximum leverage on Velocity?

Velocity offers up to 20x leverage on BTC, ETH and SOL perpetuals and up to 10x on HYPE. The 101x High Leverage Mode that Drift offered before April 2026 is not listed on Velocity. The protocol caps any market at 80x, and each market's limit is set by its initial margin ratio.

DATA SOURCES

https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/trading-fees · https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/margin · https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/trading/order-types · https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/rewards · https://docs.velocity.exchange/protocol/risk-and-safety/audits · https://velocity.exchange · https://dfx.drift.trade · The Block: Drift opens exploit recovery claims with initial payouts of just over 1% of user losses (October 2, 2026) · Solana Compass: Drift DFX claims live, recovery token redeems for 0.0104 USDT (October 2026) · Solana Compass: Cindy Leow steps down from Drift Protocol, now Velocity DEX (September 29, 2026) · CryptoTicker: Velocity replaces Drift, what changes for investors (2026) · Elliptic: Drift Protocol exploited for $286M in suspected DPRK-linked attack (April 2026) · DeFiLlama API (TVL, slug drift) · CoinGecko API (derivatives exchange list, BTC price)

By ExchangeCompare Research Team