CASE STUDY | This Hack Has Exposed Crypto’s Permissionless Idealism

A dispute between cross-chain protocols THORChain and NEAR Intents over the handling of funds stolen in the $387.7 million BitGet hack has highlighted a growing divide in the crypto industry over how far permissionless systems should go in preventing illicit transactions.

MILESTONE | BitGet Says Stolen Funds Nearing $400 Million as Security Breach Unfolds

About $387.5 million of stolen assets began moving across blockchains after the September 24 2026 BitGet breach, with some funds routed through THORChain. BitGet CEO, Gracy Chen, urged THORChain to block addresses linked to the attacker but the protocol declined arguing that selectively blocking transactions would conflict with its permissionless design.

REALITY CHECK | Why BitGet Hacker Used THORChain to Move Stolen Funds

THORChain developer, Boone Wheeler, said a truly permissionless protocol cannot intervene based on the provenance of funds because doing so would make it permissioned. The protocol had previously faced criticism after funds linked to the $1.2 billion ByBit hack were moved through its network.

CRYPTO CRIME | ByBit Sues North Korea Over the $1.5 Billion Hack in 2025, Secures Asset Freeze

NEAR Intents took a different approach.