NEAR Recovers $3.8M From Hack as Blast Shuts Down L2 and Bitcoin ETFs See $103M Inflow

NEAR Intents announced on Friday that it had recovered the full $3.8 million stolen during a Thursday security breach, after the protocol identified the individual responsible and issued a 48-hour ultimatum under its responsible disclosure framework. General manager Alex Shevchenko confirmed the complete return of funds on X, writing: "The funds from the $3.8M NEAR Intents hack were sent back in full. We are stopping the investigation. Please use bug bounties instead of disrupting the services." The swift resolution underscores how targeted disclosures and public pressure are becoming an increasingly effective tool for protocols seeking to recover stolen assets without prolonged investigations.

Meanwhile, Blast, the Ethereum layer-2 network founded by Pacman (Tieshun Roquerre) in 2023, announced it is shutting down after concluding that operating costs consistently exceeded revenue. The network stated there was no "credible path" to economic sustainability and urged users to migrate assets back to Ethereum mainnet. Blast will shorten its withdrawal delay to 24 hours, though withdrawals will pause temporarily while it unwinds positions held through Lido. Users have until October 26 to use Blast's withdrawal tools; after that, assets remain accessible only via direct interaction with the network's bridge contracts. Blast's DeFi total value locked has plunged more than 98% from its roughly $2.2 billion peak in June 2024, reflecting the broader collapse of the NFT-driven momentum that once fueled the chain.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds opened the month of October with $102.7 million in net inflows on Thursday, snapping a brief reversal after Wednesday's $148.7 million in net outflows, according to SoSoValue data. The inflow marked a continuation of the momentum from Bitcoin ETFs' strongest quarter of 2026, lifting combined net assets to $109.3 billion. The strong start to "Uptober" suggests renewed institutional appetite as macro conditions and Bitcoin price trends stabilize heading into Q4.