Near Intents halts service after $3.8 million exploit, promises full compensation

Near Intents, a tool for swapping crypto across different blockchains, stopped service on Thursday after an attacker drained about $3.8 million from it. The team says a bug in how its Omni deposit and withdrawal layer talks to the main smart contract—the self-running code that holds user funds—opened the door.

“Earlier today NEAR Intents services were stopped after a security incident was detected. The incident was caused by a bug in the Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure interaction with NEAR Intents smart contract,” the team posted on X.

“The incident has been reported to law enforcement, and we are working with security and blockchain analytics partners to trace the funds and pursue recovery.”

The exploit follows a bold move from Near Intents just two days ago when the service blocked a $50 million swap attempt from the Bitget hacker, who managed to steal around $387.5 million from the crypto exchange just last week. It's not clear if the incidents are related at the present time.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic both pointed the finger at North Korea as the likely culprit behind the crypto exchange's hack last week, citing tell-tale signs, but that has likewise not been confirmed.

Just prior to the incident, Near had been riding an institutional high, as Bitwise's Near ETF—a fund that lets ordinary investors bet on a token through a regular brokerage account, no crypto wallet needed—launched just two days earlier. NEAR, the network’s native token, today fell 8.93% to $4.86, and the ETF shares dropped more than 7%.

Bitwise first filed paperwork for the fund in April 2025, when NEAR traded at $2.61. The token has almost doubled since.

Near Intents says the contract-side hole is patched and core services should resume within about an hour. Deposits and withdrawals on 11 networks, including BNB Chain, Polygon and Optimism, stay down for roughly 12 more hours while the Omni fixes finish. The lost funds, it says, "will be compensated in full."

Think of Near Intents as a currency-exchange counter that never closes. You say what you want, and rival market makers—trading firms that quote prices—compete to fill the order. It has handled more than $30 billion in swaps across 35 blockchains.

That middle layer is the industry's weak spot. Moving value between blockchains means pooling money in the middle, and pools attract thieves. A clear example is the infamous Harmony bridge hack in 2022, when about $100 million disappeared.

As far as whose funds were taken hasn't been disclosed. Crypto balances don't carry bank-style deposit insurance, which is why the repayment pledge matters.

Near Intents says it will publish a detailed report in the coming days.