Near Protocol's NEAR Intents Hacked, Losing $3.8 Million, Just Days After Blocking $50 Million of Stolen Funds

Near Protocol, the cryptocurrency that has seen a 182% surge in the past month, has faced a security challenge in its cross-chain swap service, NEAR Intents. The platform blocked over $50 million of stolen funds from the Bitget hack, but was later exploited itself, losing $3.8 million. This exploit occurred just two days after the $50 million block, and was due to a bug in the smart contract that manages deposits and withdrawals on the cross-chain bridge.

The SHIELD system, designed to protect the service, detected the suspicious activity and paused operations across 11 networks. NEAR Intents also committed to compensating affected users, and the NEAR blockchain and its main token remained secure. Remarkably, the hacker returned the entire $3.8 million within less than a day.

Despite the recent turmoil, NEAR holders are still ahead, with the token increasing by 16% for the week, 211% over the past 60 days, and 160% over the last 90 days. However, the 9.1% drop to $4.84 on October 1 reflects the volatility often seen in rapidly rising assets, especially amid negative news.

Near Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin confirmed that the exploit was contained to the BNB Smart Chain Tether tokens, leaving the main blockchain and token secure. The incident highlights the importance of security measures in the cryptocurrency space, and the need for platforms to remain vigilant against potential threats.