THORChain and NEAR clash over handling stolen crypto funds

A debate has emerged after Bitget was hacked on Sept. 24 and about $387.5 million in stolen funds began moving across blockchains, including through THORChain. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen urged the platform to refuse transactions tied to the attacker, but THORChain said it could not screen specific addresses without compromising its permissionless design. The dispute centers on whether decentralized protocols should intervene when stolen assets are identified. THORChain argues that blocking transactions would undermine its core principle of permissionless access, while critics say that stance allows illicit funds to move too easily. NEAR Intents took a different approach. Its SHIELD security system used onchain signals and external intelligence to block some hacklinked flows, and the NEAR team said open access does not mean every application must process every request. Bitget welcomed that response and said the industry should cooperate where legally and technically possible. The article also highlights a broader tension in crypto between neutrality and intervention. Supporters of strict permissionlessness warn that adding controls could lead to censorship, while others say protocols need ways to detect and respond to known stolen funds.