NEAR Intents Deploys SHIELD to Curb Illicit Flows

NEAR Intents, a protocol enabling asset swaps across blockchains, activated its SHIELD risk-detection system after tracing activity linked to the September 24 Bitget hack. The service flagged suspicious transfers that subsequently reached other liquidity providers. In total, more than $50 million in attempted movements were rejected before completion.

During active execution, the system froze roughly $503,000 in assets. Separately, about $166,000 in suspected stolen funds passed through the infrastructure before being halted. NEAR Intents described the process as a deliberate choice to block laundering attempts rather than remain fully neutral on all cross-chain activity.

Bitget Attack and Immediate Response

Bitget disclosed that approximately $387.5 million moved to attacker-controlled addresses following the breach. The exchange traced the theft to a compromised third-party security product that supplied high-level internal credentials. Attackers issued fraudulent withdrawal instructions, exploiting the vulnerability without accessing private keys or cold storage.

Stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether responded by blacklisting one Ethereum address linked to the exploiter. This action froze 99,990 USDC and 218,023 USDT, or about $318,000 combined. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen publicly thanked both issuers and announced a bounty program offering 5 percent of frozen assets and 5 percent of successfully recovered funds.

Cross-Chain Protocol Tensions Emerge

NEAR Intents’ action drew attention amid similar requests directed at THORChain. Bitget executives and security investigators urged the THORChain network to deny services to identified attacker wallets. Some stolen funds had already moved through THORChain routes, including one path that converted roughly 145 ETH into about 4.59 BTC before further mixing.

THORChain stated that its emergency halt mechanisms protect overall protocol security but do not selectively target individual swaps or funds. The network can pause operations during crises, yet this affects the entire system rather than specific addresses. SHIELD, by contrast, allows targeted rejection at the swap level without halting the broader infrastructure.

Recovery and Legal Steps

NEAR Intents announced it will forgo Bitget’s bounty rewards. The frozen $503,000 will instead be returned through appropriate legal processes, leaving additional funds available for the exchange’s recovery efforts. The protocol continues to monitor cross-chain activity and maintains that property rights must be upheld even in decentralized systems.

Bitget has resumed limited withdrawals after enhanced security checks, scheduling Bitcoin and select Ethereum network access for late September and early October. Independent firms Mandiant and SlowMist are assisting with ongoing forensic analysis and asset tracing across multiple blockchains.