NEAR Intents says it blocked $50M tied to Bitget hackers

NEAR Intents said it blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the Bitget hack. 

Attackers stole $387.5 million from Bitget on Thursday. A significant portion of these funds moved across chains to Ethereum, according to Alex Shevchenko, general manager of NEAR Intents, a protocol that lets users swap crypto assets across blockchains. 

Shevchenko said its SHIELD system detected and blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers, which subsequently went to other providers. It managed to freeze $503,000 in funds during execution, while around $166,000 in suspected stolen funds passed through.

The post came as THORChain faced calls to block addresses linked to the attack, underscoring a tension that permissionless crypto protocols face — offering open access while seeking to curb illicit activity. 

Shevchenko argued that permissionless systems do not necessarily have to be neutral. “The people who build these systems make choices about what those protocols enable. Refusing to help launder stolen assets is one of ours,” Shevchenko said.

“Property rights are fundamental to functioning markets. A financial system where stealing an asset gives you an unrestricted right to monetize it isn’t a freer system. It is simply a system that protects the thief. Such systems cannot become the economic backbone of the future,” he added.