NEAR Intents blocks $50 million of Bitget hacker swaps
The cross-chain swap service says its SHIELD system rejected over $50 million of transfers linked to the Bitget hack and froze $503,000 mid-trade.
The attacker behind last week's $387.5 million Bitget hack tried to push more than $50 million of stolen crypto through NEAR Intents, a cross-chain swap service, and most of it was turned away. NEAR Intents said on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 that its automated risk system blocked the attempts, froze $503,000 while trades were being executed, and let only about $166,000 slip through.
Key takeaways
- More than $50 million of attempted transfers linked to the Bitget hacker were blocked.
- $503,000 was frozen during execution and will be returned to Bitget through a legal process.
- About $166,000 of suspected stolen money passed through before it was flagged.
- NEAR Intents is giving up its share of the reward Bitget offered for frozen or recovered funds.
- Circle and Tether separately froze about $318,000 of USDC and USDT in a wallet tied to the attacker.
What happened
Bitget disclosed the breach on 24 September. Attackers got past the controls protecting some of the exchange's wallets and took assets that Bitget later valued at $387.5 million (our report on the revised loss). Since then the attacker has been trying to move and convert the coins, a normal step before stolen crypto is cashed out. A large part of the loot was bridged over to Ethereum, and some was sent through XRP Ledger addresses that Ripple said it had no power to freeze (the XRP angle).
NEAR Intents lets users swap a token on one blockchain for a token on another in a single step. Instead of the user doing each hop, a network of "solvers" competes to fill the order. That speed and convenience is exactly why hackers like cross-chain swap services: coins can change chain and form within minutes, which makes them harder to trace.
How the SHIELD system stopped it
NEAR Intents runs a risk layer it calls SHIELD. It pulls in data from transaction-monitoring firms and other intelligence sources, looks for fund flows that do not match normal behaviour, and can refuse to quote a price or stop a swap halfway through. In this case it matched the incoming money to addresses linked to the Bitget attacker, which is why most of the $50 million never got a quote.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bitget total loss | $387.5 million |
| Attempted through NEAR Intents | Over $50 million |
| Frozen by NEAR Intents | $503,000 |
| Passed through | About $166,000 |
| Frozen by Circle and Tether | About $318,000 |
The "permissionless" debate
The episode has reopened an old argument. NEAR Intents describes itself as open and permissionless, so critics asked how a permissionless service can decide whose money to refuse. Some warned that tools built to stop hackers could one day be used against people who are trying to get around a repressive government.
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin replied that permissionless means nobody needs permission to own or send coins on the NEAR blockchain itself. It does not mean every app built on top has to accept every trade. Another NEAR Intents lead put it more simply: every service has values, and refusing to help launder stolen money is one of theirs.
Not everyone takes that line. THORChain, another cross-chain swap network, has said it does not censor by design, and roughly $6.3 million of the hacker's swaps went through it.
What it means for Indian users
- Freezes do help victims. Every dollar stopped at a swap service or stablecoin issuer is money that can go back to the exchange, and in turn to users.
- Your own exchange matters most. Indian users of Bitget should follow the official withdrawal schedule we covered in Bitget's staged reopening. Bitget is an offshore platform; check the FIU-registered exchanges list before choosing where to trade.
- Watch for fake recovery offers. After every big hack, scammers message victims promising to "recover" lost coins for an upfront fee. No real recovery service works that way.
FAQ
How much did NEAR Intents block from the Bitget hacker?
More than $50 million of attempted transfers. It froze $503,000 during execution and about $166,000 got through.
How much was stolen from Bitget?
Bitget put the loss at $387.5 million after the breach it disclosed on 24 September 2026.
Will the frozen money be returned?
NEAR Intents says the $503,000 will be returned through a proper legal process, and it will not take the reward Bitget offered for frozen funds.
This article is AI-assisted, educational and general in nature. It is not financial advice and never a guarantee of profit. Every trade is at your own risk on your own exchange. See our risk disclosure and editorial policy.
