Unexpected Twist in $3.8 Million Crypto Attack: Hacker Returns All the Money! Here Are the Details

$NEAR Intents announced that the $3.8 million received during the security breach has been fully refunded. The refund came after the announcement that the attacker’s identity had been determined.

$NEAR Intents, a cross-chain transaction infrastructure operating within the $NEAR ecosystem, announced that it has recovered all funds lost in a security incident involving approximately $3.8 million. According to a statement by the platform’s general manager, Alex Shevchenko, the individual associated with the attack returned the assets in full after the 48-hour grace period granted to them.

The incident stemmed from a flaw in the interaction between the Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure and the $NEAR Intents smart contract. Following the discovery of the security issue, some services were temporarily suspended, and the team announced that affected users would be fully compensated. On-chain researcher ZachXBT reported that some of the funds related to the incident were sent to KuCoin and subsequently transferred to the Bitcoin network.

The $NEAR Intents team announced they had identified the perpetrator of the attack and gave them 48 hours to return the funds under the guise of “responsible disclosure.” Shevchenko later stated that the entire $3.8 million had been returned and the investigation into the incident had been stopped. He also urged security researchers to use bug bounty programs instead of disrupting services.

While the refund is a significant development that reduces the likelihood of users experiencing direct losses, it doesn’t mean the technical flaw in the infrastructure was insignificant. The critical issue going forward will be how the vulnerability was fixed, whether similar interactions were re-examined, and what security controls were implemented when services were reopened. The statement also doesn’t suggest a general recovery method applicable to all crypto attacks; the result was achieved thanks to the specific circumstances of this incident.

*This is not investment advice.