NEAR Intents has been breached, and the damage is $3.8 million in user funds. The cross-chain protocol announced the incident on Thursday, saying a bug in its deposit and withdrawal system interacted badly with a connected smart contract, letting thieves take the money. The company says the hole has been fixed and it will pay back affected users in full. But investigators already know where some of the cash went — and the timing of the breach raises questions about whether NEAR Intents’ work helping Bitget recover from a far bigger hack made it easier to target.
The Bug Behind the Breach
NEAR Intents is a cross-chain protocol, meaning it moves value across different blockchain networks. In Thursday’s statement, the company said the problem was a flaw in how its Omni deposit and withdrawal system worked together with a connected smart contract. The flaw created a gap that attackers could exploit, and the connected contract gave them a way to pull the funds out.
“The incident has been reported to law enforcement, and we are working with security and blockchain analytics partners to trace the funds and pursue recovery.”
The company added that a detailed report would be published publicly in the coming days.
The Money That Got Away
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has analyzed the transfer chain. According to his work, the funds from the NEAR Intents breach were moved to the KuCoin exchange and then bridged to Bitcoin.
At the time of publication, it was not clear who was behind the hack. The investigation remains open, and the report promised by NEAR Intents will likely shed more light on how the theft was carried out.
Bitget’s Own Woes
The NEAR Intents breach comes just after the protocol helped Bitget deal with its own massive security failure. Bitget suffered a $388 million security breach last week, and NEAR Intents reported that it blocked $50 million and froze more than $500,000 in funds tied to that attack.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen has suggested that North Korean hackers may have been behind the larger breach.
The Pattern
The two cases share a timeline. NEAR Intents was helping Bitget recover from its breach while its own systems were being tested by attackers. The pattern is notable because the same company that was helping Bitget with its recovery was itself under attack at the same time.
| Event | Amount Involved |
|---|---|
| NEAR Intents breached | $3.8 million |
| Bitget breached | $388 million |
| NEAR Intents blocked | $50 million |
| NEAR Intents froze | More than $500,000 |
What NEAR Intents Has Said
The company’s response has been swift. It has said it will fully compensate affected users and that the contract-side hole has been closed. It has also reported the incident to law enforcement and is working with security and blockchain analytics partners to trace the funds and pursue recovery.
A detailed report will be shared publicly in the following days.
The Known Chain of Transfer
ZachXBT’s analysis shows the path the stolen funds took:
- The money was taken from NEAR Intents.
- It was moved to the KuCoin exchange.
- It was then bridged to Bitcoin.
The report has not named anyone as the attacker. That detail may come in the fuller report NEAR Intents promises to publish soon.
What the Public Should Watch For
The full picture will likely emerge in the days ahead. NEAR Intents has promised a detailed report, and ZachXBT’s analysis gives a starting point for what investigators are looking at.
The question hanging over this story is whether the two breaches are connected in ways that have not yet been revealed. The pattern is troubling, even if the companies involved have acted quickly to fix the holes and protect users.
The Bottom Line
NEAR Intents is a protocol that helps move value across chains. It was breached, and the money is gone. The company is paying users back and fixing the hole, which is exactly what a responsible company should do.
But the timing is hard to miss. A company helping another exchange recover from a huge breach was breached itself shortly after. The stolen funds moved through KuCoin and turned into Bitcoin.
The investigation continues, and the public report will likely answer some of the remaining questions. For now, the lesson is simple: when a company is helping another company recover from a massive breach, it is wise to double-check your own defenses.
See the a run of 16 images at Cointelegraph.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.