NEAR Intents Blocks Over $50M Linked to Bitget Hackers
Following the massive $387.5 million hack on the Bitget crypto exchange on Thursday, NEAR Intents reported blocking over $50 million in attempted transfers of stolen funds. The attackers moved significant sums across chains, including Ethereum, via cross-chain swap protocols. While NEAR Intents managed to freeze approximately half a million dollars, a portion of the stolen assets still passed through. Attention also focused on decentralized platforms like THORChain and their responses to attacker-linked addresses, highlighting tensions between open access and illicit activity prevention in permissionless systems.
The Hack and Fund Freezing Measures
On Thursday, attackers stole $387.5 million from Bitget, significantly moving the funds across various blockchains, including Ethereum. NEAR Intents, a protocol facilitating cross-chain swaps, reported that its SHIELD system detected and blocked transfers exceeding $50 million connected to the attack.
During the process, NEAR Intents managed to freeze approximately $503,000, although around $166,000 in suspected stolen funds still passed through the system. The funds not blocked at NEAR Intents then went to other service providers attempting to process them.
THORChain's Response and Decentralized Protocol Challenges
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen called upon THORChain to block addresses linked to the hackers. THORChain, a decentralized cross-chain swapping platform, declined to selectively freeze funds, emphasizing that its design prohibits censorship.
While THORChain has halted its network before for emergency security purposes, these actions impact the entire system rather than individual transactions. This approach highlights the inherent tension within decentralized platforms between open access and the imperative to prevent laundering of stolen assets.
NEAR Intents' Ethical Stance
Alex Shevchenko, general manager of NEAR Intents, argued that permissionless systems don’t have to be neutral by default and that they consciously refuse to enable laundering of stolen assets.
He stressed that property rights are fundamental for functioning markets. A financial system that allows thieves to freely monetize stolen assets is not freer; rather, it protects criminal behavior. According to Shevchenko, such systems cannot serve as the economic backbone of the future.
Forfeiting Rewards and Legal Procedures
NEAR Intents announced it will forgo the 5% bounty for freezing attacker funds and the additional 5% for their recovery, enabling Bitget to recover more of its stolen assets.
Shevchenko stated that frozen funds would be returned via appropriate legal channels. This comes after Circle and Tether blacklisted a wallet linked to the Bitget hacker on Friday, freezing over $318,000 in USDT and USDC stablecoins.
Why it matters
This news highlights the ongoing challenges in the cryptocurrency industry to tackle illicit activities within decentralized environments. The $387.5 million hack and subsequent blocking of a significant portion of the funds demonstrate that even in open systems, it is possible to combat laundering and illegal transfers to some extent. At the same time, THORChain’s stance underscores the fundamental dilemma between unrestricted access and censorship, a key concern for the community and regulators alike. NEAR Intents’ decision to forgo their bounty to maximize asset recovery also emphasizes the role of ethical considerations in building trust. Overall, this story illustrates efforts to strike a balance between freedom and security within crucial cryptocurrency infrastructure projects.
Prepared from the source material with AI-assisted editing and checked against the supplied facts.
Open original source ↗