Furious debate about THORChain vs NEAR shows idealism has limits
Reported by Cointelegraph · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
After the Bitget hack on September 24, $387.5 million in stolen funds began moving across chains, some aimed at THORChain. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen publicly urged THORChain to block attacker-linked addresses, but THORChain refused, sparking debate over whether decentralized protocols have a moral duty to block stolen funds. THORChain contributor Boone Wheeler said permissionless protocols cannot block funds due to lacking provenance knowledge, while NEAR Intents, a competitor, intervened using its automated SHIELD system to block hack-linked flows.
Why it matters
The debate highlights tensions between the ideals of permissionless, decentralized protocols and practical measures to prevent money laundering and theft in crypto. THORChain’s refusal to block stolen funds contrasts with NEAR Intents’ intervention, raising questions about how decentralized systems balance openness with financial integrity. The source implies this could influence user trust, cross-chain security, and protocol governance, but does not explicitly detail market impact.
Key context
Bitget CEO Chen’s request follows similar attacks, including a $1.2 billion hack funneled through THORChain previously. THORChain has emergency halting functions from a May exploit but no address-specific blocking. NEAR Intents uses public data and AML resources via SHIELD to identify and stop suspicious flows automatically. Critics argue Ecking transactions undermines permissionlessness, while NEAR’s approach aims to protect the ecosystem legally and technically without manual intervention.
Key numbers and entities
Bitget ($387.5 million stolen), THORChain (cross-chain swap protocol), NEAR Intents (NEAR Protocol’s cross-chain transaction system), SHIELD (NEAR’s automated security layer), Boone Wheeler (THORChain contributor), Gracy Chen (Bitget CEO), Alex Shevchenko (NEAR Intents GM). SHIELD blocked $503,000 of hack-linked funds and stopped $50 million in related flows.
What remains unclear
The source does not establish detailed governance mechanisms or technical limits on how stolen funds might be detected or blocked across different protocols. It is unclear how industry consensus might evolve regarding moral obligations or technical possibilities for detecting illicit activity. The legal frameworks or collaboration efforts anticipated by Bitget remain unspecified.