Dominic Williams, founder of DFINITY, has alleged that NEAR Protocol stole intellectual property behind its cross-chain stack, NEAR Intents. DFINITY develops the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain.
Williams characterized NEAR's cross-chain execution as fake decentralization and stated that key enabling components of NEAR Intents use stolen DFINITY proprietary technology. He claimed the former DFINITY employee, whom the organization fired in 2021, assisted NEAR Protocol in developing the cross-chain platform, raising concerns about potential legal implications.
According to Williams, NEAR Intents uses Chain Abstraction technology to custody assets on different chains before using a market maker to swap them across chains according to user preferences.
DFINITY asserted that the alleged IP theft caused financial harm to both the organization and ICP token holders. Williams did not mention a pending lawsuit but indicated that something has to be worked out regarding the matter.
NEAR Protocol founder Illia Polosukhin had not publicly responded to the allegations as of the report's publication. Alex Shevchenko, an executive at NEAR Protocol, responded with a sarcastic post that indirectly encouraged followers to short the ICP token.
NEAR Intents has achieved significant traction in the market, reaching a record $5 billion in volume during September with over $8 million in cumulative revenue. In contrast, Internet Computer has experienced declining network activity, with total value locked dropping from $200 million to approximately $4 million, and liquidity decreasing from $7 million to $4 million.
Community sentiment regarding ICP remained neutral at the time of reporting, declining from a greed sentiment level of 68 observed earlier in the week. On price charts, ICP declined 6%, coinciding with broader market weakness. Some community members characterized the allegations as fear, uncertainty, and disinformation, expressing concerns that the controversy could negatively impact ICP market sentiment.
