In the blockchain and Web3 market, NEAR Protocol has established itself as a pioneer in building a user-owned AI platform. This is reflected not only in the platform's outstanding features but also in its sustainable development strategy, infrastructure, and dedicated AI tools. So what are the unique aspects of NEAR Protocol? Let's explore the Layer 1 blockchain dedicated to AI through the article below!
What is NEAR Protocol? Exploring the Layer 1 blockchain dedicated to AI
What is NEAR Protocol?
NEAR Protocol is a new-generation blockchain platform designed to easily, quickly, and efficiently support decentralized applications (dApps). With the goal of building a user-friendly and sustainable platform, NEAR integrates advanced sharding technology, enabling fast transaction processing at low cost and superior scalability.
NEAR Protocol homepage
This platform is particularly notable for its user-friendly interface, support for memorable account names (like alice.near), transactions without crypto ownership, and flexible on-chain interaction. Additionally, NEAR focuses on supporting the development of a decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, helping to ensure user privacy and data ownership. With NEAR, developers can easily build and deploy powerful applications, contributing to an open, sustainable, and innovative blockchain future.
Unique features of NEAR Protocol
NEAR Protocol stands out by focusing on usability, scalability, and innovation in AI and chain abstraction, creating a modern, user-friendly, and efficient blockchain ecosystem. With features like memorable accounts, fast and low-cost transactions, and Nightshade sharding and Doomslug technology, NEAR can process millions of transactions per day.
Notably, NEAR promotes user-owned AI and chain abstraction, providing a simple experience with seamless connectivity between blockchains. Additionally, NEAR supports application development with flexible tools, advanced account models, and a carbon-neutral commitment, helping to build a sustainable and thriving platform.
NEAR Protocol features
- Sharding: NEAR uses Nightshade technology to divide the network into parallel-operating shards, increasing transaction processing capacity. The Nightshade 2.0 version has deployed 6 shards, with plans to increase to 8 shards in the first quarter of the following year. The Stateless Validation technology helps reduce memory requirements and improve node performance.
- Consensus mechanism: NEAR uses the Doomslug consensus mechanism, allowing for fast block creation with a single round of communication. Additionally, the Nightshade Finality Gadget provides certainty about the irreversibility of blocks. NEAR also applies the Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism to validate transactions, reducing energy consumption compared to Proof of Work blockchains.
- Account model: NEAR allows the creation of accounts with memorable names like brian.near. It also supports implicit accounts (created from a public/private key pair) and access keys with different permissions. The account abstraction feature enables users to transact without owning tokens, and gas fees can be paid by a third party through relayers.
- Transactions: Each transaction on NEAR can contain multiple actions, including function calls, token transfers, and staking. NEAR supports meta-transactions, allowing users to sign transactions offline and have gas fees paid by a third-party (relayer). Gas fees are calculated and refunded to contract accounts, with 30% of the gas fee going to the contract account.
- Other components: NEAR uses relayers to submit transactions to the network on behalf of users without the need to purchase tokens. NEAR AI is developing infrastructure to support user-owned AI applications.
Basic information about the NEAR token
NEAR token technical specifications
Token name | NEAR Protocol |
Ticker | NEAR |
Blockchain | NEAR Protocol, Ethereum |
Token type | NEP-141, ERC-20 |
Contract | Ethereum: 0x85f17cf997934a597031b2e18a9ab6ebd4b9f6a4 |
Total supply | 1,228,951,291 NEAR |
Circulating supply | 1,168,895,150 NEAR |
NEAR token distribution
NEAR token distribution
Investors: 17.6%.
Community and grant programs: 17.2%.
Core contributing team: 14%.
Initial ecosystem: 11.7%.
Operating grants: 11.4%.
Organizational grant fund: 10%.
Community sale: 12%.
Retail investors: 6.1%.
NEAR token vesting schedule
NEAR token vesting schedule. Source: Chain Broker
By September 2025, it is expected that the entire NEAR token supply will be released to the market, reaching the maximum total supply planned by the platform. This means that all tokens allocated to categories such as backers, staking rewards, grants, and other programs will be fully circulated. These tokens will be used for transactions, staking, and the development of applications within the NEAR ecosystem.
Uses of the NEAR token
- Payment of transaction fees and data storage: The NEAR token is used to pay gas fees when making transactions and storing data on the NEAR platform. Gas fees are priced based on gas units and converted to NEAR tokens.
- Staking to operate validator nodes: Users can stake NEAR to participate in transaction validation and create new blocks, while also contributing to network security. Validators and staking participants will receive NEAR token rewards, with a reward rate of around 4.5% of the total supply per year.
- Participate in network governance: NEAR token holders can vote and make decisions related to network governance, helping to guide technical development and resource allocation.
- Incentivize developers: 30% of the gas fees burned when executing smart contracts will be paid to the contract account, incentivizing the development of innovative applications.
NEAR Protocol Development Roadmap
Currently, the development roadmap for NEAR Protocol in 2025 has not been publicly announced. Coin68 will provide an update as soon as information becomes available.
Key Development Team of NEAR Protocol
NEAR Protocol Development Team
- Illia Polosukhin: Co-founder and one of the key figures of NEAR. Illia has extensive experience in the blockchain technology field and has worked at large tech companies.
- Alexander Skidanov: Co-founder and CTO of NEAR. Alexander is a talented software engineer with expertise in distributed systems and databases.
Investors in the NEAR Protocol Project
Investors in the NEAR Protocol Project
NEAR Protocol has attracted the attention of many large investors through successful funding rounds, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from reputable funds such as a16z, Tiger Global Management, and Three Arrows Capital. Notable funding rounds include $350 million (4/2022) and $150 million (1/2022), demonstrating investors' confidence in the technology's potential and scalability. In 2024, the NEAR ecosystem also raised an additional $146 million in external funding, along with $50.5 million from support programs, further strengthening its position and driving sustainable development.
Summary
The above is all the information about the NEAR Protocol project. Coin68 hopes that readers will have a better understanding of the project and how it operates. Wishing you all useful knowledge!
Note: The information in this article should not be considered investment advice. Coin68 will not be responsible for any of your investment decisions.
