How NEAR Intents Secretly Signaled That the Suspect Had Been Identified

A bridging bug cost NEAR Intents $3.8 million. Alex Shevchenko reveals how a coded tweet and a Signal invite encrypted with the attacker's key got the funds back. 🔥 EPISODE LINK 🔥 https://unchainedcrypto.com/how-near-intents-identified-a-suspect-and-got-its-stolen-funds-back ======================================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! 👉 Visit 1inch to swap tokenized securities, crypto and more. Simple. Secure. Self-custodial. Whatever asset you’re buying - swap it at https://unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt ======================================================================== Quick favor: We're deciding what Unchained does next; new shows, stream times, what's worth paying for. Our listener survey (https://unchainedcrypto.com/survey) takes five minutes, it's anonymous, and I read the write-in answers myself. Everyone who takes it can enter a drawing for a free year of Unchained Premium or Bits + Bips Premium. Open through Sunday, October 18. — Laura ======================================================================== NEAR Intents halted services after an attacker exploited a bug in its Omni bridging infrastructure and walked off with $3.8 million. Twelve hours after announcing the hack, the team tweeted at the suspect: "We have identified you, sir." Alex Shevchenko, GM of NEAR Intents, joins Laura Shin to walk through how the attacker got the protocol to credit USDT deposits on BNB Chain that never happened, why NEAR Intents covered the loss from its own pockets, and how a Signal invite encrypted with the attacker's public key opened a private channel that ended with the funds coming back, partly in XMR. He also lays out how Shield, NEAR Intents' detection system, kept 99% of the more than $50 million tied to the Bitget hack from passing through, and why he thinks shielded Zcash could face Monero's fate. His argument: crypto that protects thieves can never become the economic backbone its builders want. Host: 👉 Laura Shin - Founder, CEO and Host of Unchained - https://x.com/laurashin Guest: 👉 Alex Shevchenko - GM of NEAR Intents - https://x.com/AlexAuroraDev Timestamps: 🚨 01:43 How an Omni bridging bug let an attacker fake deposits and drain $3.8M 🌐 02:37 What NEAR Intents is, and how it relates to NEAR Protocol and near.com ⚙️ 05:01 How the hack worked and how the identified that it had occurred 💧 09:51 1inch Aqua: Back multiple positions with one token balance at https://1inch.com/aqua 🚔 10:55 Law enforcement, and how NEAR Intents identified a suspect within 12 hours 🔐 17:51 The Penn and Teller playbook: a Signal invite only the attacker could decrypt 🏎️ 22:52 Why Alex says a bug bounty beats hacking, Lambo included 🛡️ 26:24 Shield: how NEAR Intents kept 99% of Bitget hack funds off the protocol ⚖️ 32:07 Does blocking stolen funds make NEAR Intents centralized? Alex says no 🕶️ 40:17 Can shielded Zcash stay clean, or will it follow Monero's path? ======================================================================== #bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies ======================================================================== Subscribe to our channel! Website → https://unchainedcrypto.com Unchained Daily Newsletter (FREE!)→ https://unchainedcrypto.beehiiv.com/subscribe/ Unchained X → https://x.com/unchained_pod Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1123922160?ls=1 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1cJrrfGY1SKBIRn5noKSAf?si=6SI4qIcRTEO7EhOe0V9n4w RSS Feed → https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LSHML4761942757 Unchained: Your no-hype resource for all things crypto!