NEAR Intents Recovers $3.8M Stolen in Hack, Blast Shuts Down L2, Bitcoin ETFs See $103M Inflow

NEAR Intents has fully recovered approximately $3.8 million in stolen funds following a Thursday security breach, the platform confirmed on Friday. General manager Alex Shevchenko announced on X that the funds were returned in full after the team identified the individual responsible and issued a 48-hour "responsible disclosure" ultimatum. NEAR Intents said it is now closing its investigation and urged would-be exploiters to use formal bug bounty programs instead of attacking live services. The swift recovery marks a rare win in a year that has seen several high-profile DeFi exploits drain tens of millions from protocols across the industry.

Blast, the Ethereum layer-2 network launched in 2023 by Blur founder Tieshun "Pacman" Roquerre, is winding down operations after concluding that its operating costs consistently exceeded revenue. The network stated there is no "credible path" to economic sustainability and is directing users to withdraw assets to Ethereum mainnet. Blast will shorten its withdrawal delay to 24 hours, though withdrawals will be temporarily paused for roughly one week while the protocol unwinds positions held through Lido. Users have until October 26 to withdraw through Blast's interface, after which assets remain accessible only via direct interaction with the network's bridge contracts. Blast's DeFi total value locked has collapsed more than 98% from its roughly $2.2 billion peak in June 2024, reflecting the broader decline in NFT and yield-driven activity that once fueled its early growth.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds opened October with $102.7 million in net inflows on Thursday, flipping positive after $148.7 million in net outflows the prior day, according to SoSoValue data. The rebound follows the strongest quarter of 2026 for Bitcoin ETFs, lifting their combined net assets to $109.3 billion. The early October momentum, already being branded "Uptober" by market participants, suggests renewed institutional appetite after a volatile September. Analysts are watching whether the inflow trend sustains through the month, with several spot ETF issuers expanding offerings and fee competition intensifying across major funds.