NEAR Intents gets the bag back
The NEAR Intents drama has officially reached a W conclusion. After suffering a $3.8 million hit in a security breach this past Thursday, the team managed to identify the exploiter and issued a 48-hour ultimatum. Real talk, the strategy worked: General manager Alex Shevchenko confirmed on Friday that every cent was returned. The investigation is officially closed, but the team sent a firm reminder: use bug bounties, don't mess with user funds.
Blast hits the kill switch
It’s giving terminal exit. The Blast Ethereum layer-2 network is shutting down after realizing the vibes are off for their bottom line—operating costs are officially eating their revenue. Founded by Blur’s Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre, the project once held over $2 billion in TVL, but that’s nosedived by over 98% since its peak last summer. If you have assets parked there, listen up: you’ve got until October 26 to pull them via the interface before you have to start messing with bridge contracts manually. They’re shortening withdrawal delays to 24 hours to help the transition, but expect a temporary pause while they unwind Lido assets.
Bitcoin ETFs start October strong
Despite the chaos elsewhere, Bitcoin ETFs are back in the green. After a shaky Wednesday, they pulled in $102.7 million in net inflows on the first day of October. This comes right after a massive Q3 where BTC jumped 42.7%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is sitting around $85,900, and the Fear & Greed Index is chilling at 72. Just a reminder: none of this is financial advice, so manage your risk accordingly.
Why it matters
The closure of Blast serves as a major reality check for L2 networks that rely purely on incentives rather than long-term utility. Meanwhile, the successful recovery of the NEAR Intents funds shows that responsible disclosure and clear ultimatums can still work on-chain, even when things look bleak.
