Cross-chain protocol NEAR Intents paused services after an Omni deposit/withdrawal exploit drained $3.8 million. The incident follows the protocol’s recent intervention to block some flows tied to the Bitget breach and has prompted debate about transaction censorship versus permissionless infrastructure.
NEAR Intents earlier froze roughly $503K of Bitget-linked funds and allowed about $166K to pass while attackers tried to move ~$50M through the protocol.
# What happened NEAR Intents halted services on Oct. 1 after a security incident that resulted in a $3.8 million loss. The protocol said the breach exploited the interaction between its Omni deposit/withdrawal infrastructure and a NEAR Intents smart contract. The issue was disclosed at 14:00 GMT+1 and NEAR Intents reported the contract-side vulnerability had been patched within the hour.
# Scope and immediate operational impact The protocol said deposits and withdrawals would remain unavailable on several networks until the Omni infrastructure itself is patched. The affected networks listed include BSC, Polygon, TON, Optimism, Avalanche, Stellar, Monad, LayerX, Adi, Scroll, and Plasma. NEAR Intents also said trading had resumed across most networks after containment and the patch.
# How the exploit unfolded
# Context: Bitget hack and NEAR Intents' prior intervention
That intervention contrasts with the response of other cross-chain services. THORChain, for example, refused requests to block Bitget-linked flows, citing its permissionless model even as users debated whether protocols should block or refuse service to addresses tied to theft.
# Market reaction and follow-up actions
# What this means for users
# Where this sits in the broader debate
# Immediate next steps to watch
Following Bitget’s $387.5 million hack, attackers attempted to move more than $50 million through Near Intents, but its SHIELD security system detected the activity and prevented most of the attempted transfers. Just $166,000 slipped through, while another $503,000 was frozen mid-execution. Aurora co-founder Alex Shevc
The platform said it will compensate users affected by the hack, which stemmed from a bug that affected deposits and withdrawals. Cross-chain protocol NEAR Intents reported a security breach that resulted in the loss of $3.8 million in user funds. In a Thursday X post, the protocol said that the incident was the result
The cross-chain protocol said it actively prevents stolen funds from being laundered, drawing a contrast with THORChain’s position that it does not selectively censor transactions.
NEAR Intents says it blocked over $50 million in Bitget-linked transfers as THORChain defended its policy against selective freezes.
The exploit was isolated to USDT on BSC, and the core NEAR blockchain and its NEAR token were not affected at all.
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