NEAR Intents, a cross-chain trading protocol, has blocked more than $50 million in attempted laundering flows linked to the recent Bitget exploit, while freezing $503,000 during the execution process.
The intervention was carried out through SHIELD, the protocols risk-intelligence system, which monitors transactions for links to hacks and other illicit activity, according to a Monday report.
Alex Shevchenko, co-founder and CEO of Auroro Labs, stated that SHIELD routinely processes more than $100 million in cross-chain volume each day and uses intelligence from know-your-transaction providers, independent researchers and industry partners to identify potentially illicit funds.
In the Bitget case, the system identified more than $50 million in attempted laundering flows and prevented the majority of the funds from moving through the protocol.
A further $503,000 was frozen during execution and remains restricted while Bitget pursues the appropriate legal and recovery processes. However, roughly $166,000 of the identified funds escaped through the protocol.
NEAR Intents also claimed to have waived any bounty offered by Bitget, allowing the exchange to retain more of the recovered funds.
“Crypto cannot simultaneously demand recognition of digital property rights and build infrastructure optimized for monetizing stolen property,” the team stated.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen thanked NEAR Intents and SHIELD for identifying the attempted laundering activity, freezing funds and waiving their bounty share.
“This is what permissionless but not ‘facilitating known stolen funds’ should look like,” Chen wrote in an X post.
ZachXBT identifies link between Bitget hackers and Chinese illicit actors
The intervention by NEAR Intents comes as onchain investigators continue to monitor the movement of the stolen assets.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT claimed Chinese illicit actors helped launder funds connected to the $387 million Bitget exploit, which he attributed to alleged North Korean attackers. He stated that individuals involved in the laundering effort have been publicly seeking assistance with orders through Discord servers and Telegram channels used by the services involved.
ZachXBT also linked one of the actors to an earlier incident. He said an entity he called “Alias 4” had previously been observed laundering funds connected to the $292 million Kelp DAO exploit.
For the Bitget funds currently being tracked, ZachXBT said the attackers moved assets between blockchains through bridges before depositing them into mixing services, including Wasabi.
The laundering attempts followed a Thursday breach that drained approximately $387.5 million from Bitgets hot and warm wallets.
Bitget noted that its cold wallets and separate self-custodial wallet product were not affected by the incident. The exchange has also committed to fully covering user losses through its User Protection Fund.
Following the breach, the crypto exchange began gradually restoring withdrawals, starting with Bitcoin.
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NEAR technical outlook: NEAR could find support at $4.39 after 150% rally
Despite the latest moves, NEAR is down roughly 10% over the past 24 hours, trading at $4.83 at the time of writing. The token is taking a breather after skyrocketing over the past two weeks. It is up 12% over the past 7 days and up 150% over the past month.
NEAR/USDT daily chart
Momentum indicators, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic Oscillator (Stoch), are retreating from overbought levels. On the downside, NEAR could find support at $4.39, then the 20-day EMA at $3.95 and $3.45 if the prior support level fails.
On the upside, resistance holds at $5.86, then $7.31.