Near Intents Recovers $3.8 Million After 48-Hour Ultimatum

Cross-chain swap service Near Intents has recovered the full $3.8 million stolen in an exploit, according to general manager Alex Shevchenko. The recovery concludes the team's investigation into the incident.

The swift turnaround followed a public ultimatum issued by Shevchenko on Thursday. Addressing the attacker directly on X with the statement, "We have identified you, sir," the team provided Bitcoin, BNB/Ethereum, and Solana addresses for returning the funds, warning that a 48-hour window for responsible disclosure was closing.

On-Chain Contrition

Following the demand, an on-chain message attached to a transaction—which Shevchenko shared and attributed to the exploiter—expressed a contrite tone. "We've returned all the funds, we were in the wrong," the message stated. The sender also thanked the Near team for a cordial process and urged others to utilize bug bounties instead of disrupting services.

Near Intents had halted its service on Thursday after a bug in the interaction between its Omni deposit and withdrawal layer and its main smart contract enabled an attacker to siphon funds. The protocol previously pledged to compensate users in full and reported the incident to law enforcement. According to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, the stolen funds were initially sent to KuCoin and bridged to Bitcoin.

Key facts

• Near Intents recovered the full $3.8 million drained in Thursday's exploit in full.
• General manager Alex Shevchenko gave the attacker a 48-hour ultimatum after identifying them.
• An on-chain message from the exploiter stated they were in the wrong and urged the use of bug bounties.
• The protocol halted its service following the bug affecting its Omni deposit layer and main smart contract.