NEAR Intents says it identified $3.8M exploiter, sets 48-hour return deadline
In brief
- NEAR Intents said it identified the individual behind Thursday's $3.8 million breach.
- GM Alex Shevchenko set a 48-hour deadline to return funds under "responsible disclosure."
- Shevchenko's post listed Bitcoin, BNB and Solana wallet addresses for repayment.
- NEAR Intents pledged to compensate affected users in full.
- ZachXBT said the funds moved to KuCoin and were bridged to Bitcoin.
The 48-hour ultimatum
Shevchenko didn't mince words. In a Friday post on X, reported by Cointelegraph, the NEAR Intents general manager said the protocol had found the person responsible and gave them 48 hours to return the funds under responsible disclosure.
“We have identified you, sir,” NEAR Intents general manager Alex Shevchenko said in an X post on Friday
The same post listed three wallet addresses (one each for Bitcoin, BNB and Solana) where the funds can be sent back. It's worth being clear about what that identification is: NEAR Intents' own claim, made publicly through Shevchenko's post.
How the breach happened
NEAR Intents paused services on Thursday after detecting a bug in how its Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure interacted with the NEAR Intents smart contract. That's a narrow failure point. It was also an expensive one, since the protocol's preliminary investigation found that $3.8 million in user funds had been stolen.
That figure comes from NEAR Intents' preliminary investigation, so it's the protocol's own count at this stage.
NEAR Intents says affected users will be compensated in full.
Where the money went
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the funds were transferred to the KuCoin exchange and then bridged to Bitcoin. That trail comes from ZachXBT's own on-chain tracing, not from a NEAR Intents statement.
Cointelegraph separately reported on the exploit under a headline referencing a Bitget breach.
Frequently asked questions
What caused the NEAR Intents exploit?
NEAR Intents said it paused services on Thursday after detecting a bug in the interaction between its Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure and the NEAR Intents smart contract. Its preliminary investigation found that $3.8 million in user funds was stolen.
Will NEAR Intents users get their money back?
NEAR Intents pledged to compensate affected users in full. Separately, general manager Alex Shevchenko gave the individual the protocol says it identified 48 hours to return the funds under "responsible disclosure," sharing wallet addresses for Bitcoin, BNB and Solana.
Where did the stolen NEAR Intents funds go?
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the funds from the incident were transferred to the KuCoin exchange and bridged to Bitcoin. That account comes from ZachXBT, not from NEAR Intents.
