Near Intents blocks $50 million in Bitget hacker swaps, here's what happened
Reported by CoinDesk · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
NEAR Intents blocked about $503,000 linked to Bitget’s recent $388 million hack during cryptocurrency swaps, while approximately $166,000 associated with the hack passed through its platform. The incident challenges NEAR Intents’ claim of being fully permissionless since its “SHIELD” system actively intervened and froze suspicious funds. NEAR Intents stated the restricted funds will remain on hold pending legal and recovery proceedings, though it did not clarify who can authorize their release or how wrongfully flagged users can recover their assets.
Why it matters
This event raises questions about NEAR Intents’ claim to be a permissionless and uncensorable platform given its active role in blocking hacker-linked funds. The intervention contrasts with other protocols like THORChain, which declined to block hacker addresses and emphasizes a debate about how permissionless services should handle illicit activity. The source does not explicitly explain the broader impact on markets or users.
Key context
The Bitget exchange disclosed a $388 million hack on September 24, 2026, after attackers bypassed wallet security controls. NEAR Intents serves as a cross-chain swap service that checks transactions for links to reported hacks and can delay suspicious swaps. Other entities such as Circle and Tether have also frozen approximately $320,000 in stablecoins related to the breach. NEAR cofounder Illia Polosukhin clarified that permissionless infrastructure does not require all applications to process every transaction.
Key numbers and entities
Bitget exchange ($388 million hack), NEAR Intents (blocked about $503,000, allowed about $166,000), THORChain (refused to block attacker addresses), Circle and Tether (frozen roughly $320,000 in stablecoins), NEAR cofounder Illia Polosukhin, NEAR Intents general manager Alex Shevchenko. The blocked and allowed amounts may vary by up to 10%.
What remains unclear
The source does not specify who has the authority to approve the release of frozen funds or how wrongly flagged users might recover their assets. It is also unclear how NEAR Intents determines false positives in its blocking system or the full legal framework governing the frozen funds.