Cross-chain crypto swapping protocol NEAR Intents suspended its operations on Thursday following a security breach that resulted in roughly $3.8 million in stolen assets, based on preliminary findings.
Through an X post, the project developers explained that the attack stemmed from a software flaw regarding how the Omni deposit and withdrawal framework connected with the NEAR Intents smart contract.
The developers committed to reimbursing all impacted funds in full.
Although the vulnerable contract has been secured, the team announced that NEAR Intents and Near.com would likely resume functions within an hour, while deposits and withdrawals spanning 11 different chains—such as BSC, Polygon, and Optimism—would remain offline for approximately 12 additional hours.
On-chain sleuth ZachXBT noted in a separate Telegram update that unusual transactions drained the protocol’s BSC hot wallet, and that the stolen capital moved to the KuCoin exchange before being bridged over to bitcoin (BTC).
The Block contacted KuCoin for statements and further details but did not obtain an immediate response.
NEAR Intents reported that it is actively collaborating with law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence firms to track the stolen assets, and plans to publish a comprehensive post-mortem analysis in the near future.
This security incident happens about a month and a half after NEAR announced that cumulative trading volume processed via the platform had surpassed $25 billion.
The native NEAR Protocol token (NEAR) experienced a 6.7% daily drop, currently exchanging hands at $4.96. The timing is equally unfortunate for investors who recently participated in Bitwise’s NEAR ETF (NRR), which debuted a mere two days ago. At the time of writing, NRR fell 6.4%, completely erasing Wednesday’s profits and dropping further.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-10-01-near-intents-halts-services-after-3-8-million-exploit-promises-full-compensation-417404.
