NEAR Protocol’s price rose more than 7% after NEAR Intents recovered the full USD 3.8 million stolen in an exploit disclosed on October 1, 2026. NEAR Intents general manager Alex Shevchenko announced the full recovery on October 2, and by October 5 the token had climbed 7.7% over 24 hours to USD 5.14, according to CoinGecko data, though the recovery alone doesn’t fully explain the move.
Shevchenko said the team had identified the person behind the breach and given them a deadline to return the funds. The exploiter sent the money back before the deadline passed, and Shevchenko said NEAR Intents was stopping its investigation.
Shevchenko announced the return on X on October 2, confirming the funds were sent back in full and the investigation was ending:
How the Exploit Played Out Before the Recovery
NEAR Intents paused services after a bug in how its Omni deposit and withdrawal layer interacts with its main smart contract. Bitquery’s investigation found that 3.865 million USDT left a NEAR Intents vault on BNB Chain in five withdrawals over about six hours, after two small tests of 10 USDT and 11 USDT.
| NEAR Intents Exploit | Reported Detail |
| Loss reported by NEAR Intents | About USD 3.8M |
| USDT counted by Bitquery | 3.865M |
| Large withdrawals | 5 |
| Test withdrawals | 10 USDT and 11 USDT |
| Network | BNB Chain |
| Outcome | Full amount returned October 2 |
Table 1. Key figures from the NEAR Intents exploit and recovery.
The company’s figure sits slightly below Bitquery’s count, and Bitquery notes the last, small withdrawal may account for the gap.
Where the Stolen Funds Went Before They Came Back
Bitquery’s investigation said blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported money heading for KuCoin and Bitcoin, and its own tracing points the same way. By the afternoon of October 1, about 76% of the money sat in Bitcoin across four wallets and about 21% had reached KuCoin deposit addresses, a trail that crossed several chains in ways similar to how bridging assets between blockchains works.
NEAR Intents had already pledged to repay affected users in full. The reports don’t say whether payouts were made, and the company has promised a detailed report on the bug, so its technical cause rests on NEAR Intents’ own statement. The reports describe a flaw in the deposit and withdrawal system and don’t say the NEAR blockchain itself was compromised.
NEAR’s Price Fell After the Exploit, Then Rebounded
On CoinGecko, NEAR traded at USD 5.14 on October 5 with 24-hour volume near USD 726 million and a market capitalization of about USD 6.72 billion. Its daily closes show the dip and the rebound.
| Date (UTC) | NEAR Close |
| September 30 | USD 5.34 |
| October 1 | USD 4.81 |
| October 2 | USD 4.69 |
| October 3 | USD 4.83 |
| October 5 snapshot | USD 5.14 |
Table 2. NEAR’s price around the exploit and recovery, from CoinGecko historical data.
NEAR fell 12.2% from September 30 to October 2. The October 5 price is 9.6% above the October 2 close but still 3.7% below the September 30 close.
A Move of This Size Is Routine for NEAR Right Now
NEAR climbed from USD 2.34 on September 15 to USD 5.39 on September 27, a gain of about 130%, and it swung close to 10% in a single day more than once. It fell 10.6% on September 28, rose 9.2% on September 30, and fell 9.9% on October 1.
CoinGecko’s own market summary on October 5 lists a proposal to cut NEAR’s inflation, rising meme-coin activity, and AI-related interest among the factors behind the latest move. The timing shows the rebound followed the recovery, and the data doesn’t establish that the recovery caused it.
What this means for you: NEAR was trading at USD 5.14 on October 5, up 7.7% in 24 hours, after NEAR Intents recovered the full USD 3.8 million stolen in an exploit disclosed October 1. The price had fallen 12.2% to USD 4.69 by October 2 and remains below its September 30 close. Daily swings near 10% have been common, and several factors besides the recovery are cited for the latest move.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment or security advice. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile, and recovery of stolen assets does not eliminate the smart-contract, cross-chain, custody or operational risks associated with digital-asset infrastructure.
