NEAR Intents, a cross-chain protocol, said it has blocked $50 million in assets connected to the hackers behind the Bitget exploit. The protocol claims it actively prevents stolen funds from being laundered through its network. The move puts it at odds with THORChain, another cross-chain service, which maintains it does not selectively censor transactions.
How the funds were stopped
NEAR Intents did not detail the exact mechanism, but the protocol's stated policy is to screen and block flows linked to known thefts. In this case, the $50 million tied to the Bitget hackers was halted before it could move further. The protocol positions this as a core feature, not an ad-hoc decision.
THORChain's contrasting stance
THORChain, which also facilitates cross-chain swaps, has taken a different position. It says it does not selectively censor transactions. That means funds that NEAR Intents might block could potentially still move through THORChain, depending on how the protocol's rules are applied. The two approaches highlight a growing divide in how cross-chain infrastructure handles illicit money.
The Bitget hack connection
The $50 million is tied to the same hackers who exploited Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange. Details of that hack — when it occurred, how much was taken in total — were not fully laid out in the facts. What is clear is that NEAR Intents identified the link and acted to stop the funds from being laundered.
What this means for cross-chain users
For users of cross-chain protocols, the incident underscores a basic question: who decides which transactions are allowed? NEAR Intents says it will block stolen funds. THORChain says it won't pick and choose. Neither approach is without trade-offs. Blocking can prevent laundering but requires a central point of control. Not blocking preserves neutrality but can let stolen money flow.
The $50 million block is one of the larger publicly acknowledged interventions of its kind. It also raises practical questions about how other protocols will respond if the same funds try to route through them. For now, the money tied to the Bitget hackers is stuck on NEAR Intents' side of the fence.
What happens next depends on whether the hackers attempt to move the funds through other chains. If they do, the response from those protocols will test whether NEAR Intents' approach is an outlier or the start of a broader shift. THORChain has already made its position clear, but other cross-chain services have not weighed in.
