NEAR Intents has issued an ultimatum to the hacker responsible for a recent security breach, demanding the return of stolen assets within 48 hours. The incident, which occurred on October 1, 2026, resulted in the loss of approximately $3.8 million, primarily in USDT stablecoins from a BNB Chain treasury contract.
The vulnerability stemmed from a technical error in the interaction between the protocol’s Omni deposit-and-withdrawal infrastructure and its smart contracts. Upon discovering the breach, the team suspended operations and successfully patched the flaw within one hour. While core services resumed shortly after, certain cross-chain features remained offline for further repairs.
Investigators tracked the stolen funds to the KuCoin exchange, where they were subsequently converted into Bitcoin. The protocol is currently collaborating with law enforcement agencies and blockchain analytics firms to recover the assets. This 48-hour deadline represents a shift toward direct pressure on the attacker alongside ongoing investigative efforts.
The team noted that this is not their first encounter with exploit-related activity, having previously blocked suspicious transactions linked to an earlier incident. The protocol clarified that the breach was isolated to its own infrastructure, leaving the underlying NEAR Protocol and other associated applications unaffected by the attack.
