NEAR Intents says it blocked $50M tied to Bitget hackers
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Cointelegraph by Felix Ng
NEAR Intents blocked $50 million in stolen Bitget funds, highlighting a growing divide in DeFi over transaction censorship. Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin signaled that Ethereum's upcoming Hegotá upgrade marks its shift toward becoming a sophisticated cryptographic computer.
The Great DeFi Schism: Censorship vs. Decentralization
The recent $387.5 million hack of the Bitget exchange has ignited a fierce debate within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem regarding the responsibility of protocols to intervene in illicit activity. As funds moved across chains, a stark philosophical divide emerged between NEAR Intents and THORChain. While NEAR Intents utilized its SHIELD system to block over $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the attackers, THORChain has maintained a policy of non-intervention, refusing to blacklist addresses associated with the theft.
The Role of Protocol Intervention
NEAR Intents, led by general manager Alex Shevchenko, has positioned itself as an active participant in network security by preventing stolen funds from being laundered through its infrastructure. This proactive stance stands in direct opposition to the core tenets held by THORChain, which argues against selective censorship of transactions. This conflict underscores the ongoing tension in the crypto industry between the desire for permissionless, censorship-resistant infrastructure and the practical pressures to mitigate harm from large-scale exploits.
The Bitget Breach and Its Aftermath
The scale of the Bitget hack—which grew from initial reports of $351.6 million to a staggering $387.5 million—has brought significant scrutiny to the security practices of centralized exchanges. Reports suggest that investigators have linked the IP addresses involved in the unauthorized transfers to VPN services frequently utilized by North Korean hacking groups. The incident serves as a grim reminder of the persistent threat posed by sophisticated state-sponsored actors targeting financial platforms.
Ethereum’s Philosophical Evolution
Amidst the chaos of the Bitget recovery efforts, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has provided a long-term roadmap for the network that reflects a broader shift in the blockchain landscape. Buterin noted that the PeerDAS implementation marks the beginning of Ethereum's transition from a simple blockchain into a powerful "world cryptographic computer." This evolution represents a move toward greater utility and complexity, aiming to solve the scalability and security challenges that have long plagued the sector.
The Future of Blockchain Upgrades
Looking toward 2027, Buterin identified the Hegotá upgrade as a potential watershed moment, describing it as the final "normal" fork for Ethereum. Future developments are expected to pivot toward advanced technologies such as recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, and quantum-safe cryptography. These advancements suggest that the foundational architecture of the network is becoming increasingly unrecognizable to those familiar with its 2015 origins, signaling a maturation of the ecosystem.
Conclusion
The divergence between protocols like NEAR Intents and THORChain highlights a critical juncture for DeFi as it grapples with its role in financial crime prevention. Simultaneously, the technical evolution articulated by Vitalik Buterin suggests that the industry is moving past its experimental phase. As protocols become more robust and complex, the industry must reconcile the necessity of security measures with the fundamental principles of decentralization that first defined the space.