NEAR Intents Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Hacker for $3.8 Million Recovery

NEAR Intents has set a 48-hour ultimatum for the hacker responsible for a recent exploit that resulted in the loss of approximately $3.8 million, primarily in USDT. The protocol's general manager, Alex Shevchenko, announced the deadline after identifying the attacker and provided specific addresses for the return of the stolen funds.

The exploit occurred on October 1, 2026, due to a bug in the protocol's Omni deposit-and-withdrawal infrastructure, which affected its smart contracts. Following the discovery of the exploit, NEAR Intents halted its services and quickly patched the vulnerability within an hour. Although core services resumed shortly after, some cross-chain functionalities remained offline for further repairs.

Investigators have traced the stolen assets to KuCoin, where they were converted into Bitcoin. NEAR Intents is collaborating with law enforcement and blockchain analytics firms to recover the funds. The ultimatum represents a shift in strategy, moving from damage control to applying direct pressure on the hacker to return the assets.

This incident is not NEAR Intents' first encounter with security issues; the protocol previously blocked suspicious transactions linked to another hack earlier this year. Following the announcement of the exploit, the NEAR token experienced a drop of 6% to 10%, despite the fact that the underlying NEAR Protocol and its other applications were not directly impacted.