NEAR Intents, a cross-chain trading system built on the NEAR Protocol, has suffered a $3.8 million exploit affecting its deposit-and-withdrawal infrastructure, according to CoinDesk. The incident forced the protocol to freeze its cross-chain swaps as developers work to patch the vulnerability.
The exploit targeted a bug in NEAR Intents' "Omni" deposit-and-withdrawal infrastructure that spans multiple blockchain networks, reported The Block. While the team has patched the underlying contract flaw, deposits and withdrawals remain disrupted across 11 networks as of the time of reporting.
The timing has drawn particular scrutiny. The hack occurred mere days after NEAR Intents faced public questioning over its role in the aftermath of the Bitget exchange breach. According to Decrypt, the protocol had recently denied connections to a North Korea-linked hacker involved in the Bitget incident before becoming a victim itself.
Cointelegraph reported that NEAR Intents has committed to compensating all affected users, with the platform explicitly stating it will "repay every user" who lost funds in the attack. This reimbursement pledge follows a familiar pattern in DeFi exploits, where protocols attempt to maintain user trust through direct compensation rather than relying solely on insurance mechanisms or token dilution.
The exploit's impact extended beyond the protocol itself. According to CryptoSlate, NEAR's native token declined approximately 10% to $4.86 following the disclosure, creating a stress test for the network's newly launched US ETF. The selloff highlighted how security incidents in major ecosystem protocols can rapidly transmit to broader market sentiment, particularly during periods when institutional products are attracting new capital flows.
NEAR Intents has positioned itself as a key infrastructure layer for cross-chain activity, with its "Intents" model allowing users to specify desired outcomes while solvers compete to fulfill trades across fragmented liquidity sources. The $3.8 million loss represents a significant blow to a protocol handling substantial volume, though the full compensation commitment may help mitigate longer-term user attrition if execution follows promptly.