NEAR Intents Identifies Suspected Hacker, Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Return Stolen Funds
NEAR Intents has identified the individual behind a security breach that led to the theft of $3.8 million in user funds on Thursday, demanding the return of the assets within 48 hours under a "responsible disclosure" policy. General Manager Alex Shevchenko shared wallet addresses for Bitcoin, BNB, and Solana to receive returned funds. The service was paused following the detection of a bug in the Omni deposit and withdrawal interaction with their smart contract. NEAR Intents pledged full compensation to users affected by the incident.
Incident Detection and Immediate Response
On Thursday, NEAR Intents discovered a vulnerability within their Omni deposit and withdrawal interaction with the NEAR Intents smart contract. This bug led to a security breach during which $3.8 million in user funds was stolen. Following the detection, the service was paused promptly to investigate the incident and prevent further losses.
Identification of the Hacker and Next Steps
NEAR Intents General Manager Alex Shevchenko stated on social media platform X that they have identified the individual responsible for the breach. He shared three cryptocurrency wallet addresses—Bitcoin, BNB, and Solana—to which the stolen funds can be returned. The company issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the hacker to return the assets under a “responsible disclosure” framework. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT revealed that the stolen funds were transferred to the KuCoin exchange and subsequently bridged into Bitcoin. NEAR Intents has pledged full reimbursement to those affected by the breach.
Why it matters
The announcement that NEAR Intents identified the hacker behind a major $3.8 million theft and issued a 48-hour ultimatum to return the funds highlights the ongoing efforts within the crypto sector to combat cyberattacks and uphold user accountability. It underscores the critical importance of swift vulnerability detection, asset recovery attempts, and draws attention to the challenges of securing smart contracts and their interaction with multi-protocol infrastructures.
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