Bitget Hackers Meet Resistance from NEAR Intents and Chainflip

According to reports, the hackers behind the $388 million Bitget hack have encountered new hurdles as they attempt to launder their stolen funds. Two cross-chain swap services, NEAR Intents and Chainflip, have joined Tether and Circle in refusing or freezing more than $50 million tied to the hack.

NEAR Intents' General Manager Alex Shevchenko revealed that only about $166,000 was processed through their platform, while $503,000 was frozen mid-swap. The rest was refused outright, although Shevchenko noted that those rejected funds 'went to other providers.'

SHEVCHENKO credits the SHIELD system for blocking the fund flow, which is a risk-intelligence layer that decides whether to ignore a quote or halt a swap already in flight by pulling signals from know-your-transaction vendors, researchers and large centralized players.

However, not all protocols are taking action against the Bitget hackers. THORChain has declined to freeze funds, citing its inability to selectively freeze specific funds or swaps. This decision has sparked debates about what it means for DeFi protocols to be 'permissionless.'