What is NEAR Protocol (NEAR)? An introduction to NEAR
MoonPay explains NEAR Protocol, the young project that offers an easy entry into decentralized finance (DeFi) at scale.
Near Protocol Price (NEAR)
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About Near Protocol (NEAR)
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is a Layer-1 blockchain that aims to enable developers and entrepreneurs to quickly and sustainably build decentralized applications (dApps) that secure high-value assets like money and identity, while providing a user-friendly experience for consumers.
The NEAR ecosystem is governed by the NEAR Foundation and aims to create a community-run cloud that can extend the reach of Open Finance and power the future of the Open Web.
The platform is built upon the principles of permissionless innovation, where developers and users have the freedom to create and access content storing data and applications without the need for centralized control. NEAR seeks to address the adversarial nature of the current web, where a few companies hold user data and stifle innovation by actively opposing successful applications.
NEAR Protocol utilizes a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, which allows network participants to stake NEAR tokens and participate in the block validation process. It also uses Nightshade, which enables dynamic sharding, a technique that improves blockchain scalability.
NEAR is the native token of the NEAR Protocol. NEAR can be used to pay for storage and transaction fees on the network. Developers can also receive a portion of the transaction fees generated by their smart contracts while the remaining fees are burned to maintain scarcity.
NEAR Protocol price history
2020
During its token sale from August 12 to August 25, NEAR Protocol offered its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) with a token price of $0.40 USD. By the end of the year, the price of NEAR was approximately $1.20.
2021
In 2021, the NEAR price showed significant growth due to a bull market and the surge in relative popularity of Bitcoin and other altcoins. In December 2021, the price of Near Protocol reached its highest price paid yet at $15.46.
2022
In 2022, following its new highest price of $20.42 on January 16, NEAR continued to display strength, reflecting the positive momentum from 2021.
As the year progressed, the overall cryptocurrency market sentiment shifted towards a bear market. Gradually, the NEAR price declined, eventually losing approximately 90% of its value. By December 2022, the token was trading at its lowest price paid in years at $1.29.
2023
NEAR has seen value fluctuations in 2023. NEAR started the year around $1.25 per token before hitting several peaks above $2.50 in February. Since then, the token has largely declined in value, falling below its initial value at the start of the year by September.
How does NEAR Protocol work?
The NEAR Protocol comprises a network of nodes operated by individuals and organizations across the globe. These nodes contribute their CPU and hard drive space to create NEAR's cloud infrastructure. Developers can deploy their smart contracts to this cloud, and users can interact with decentralized applications through desktop or mobile interfaces.
In contrast to centralized clouds, where developers pay based on monthly usage, NEAR requires compensation for usage from both users and developers. The pricing is based on understandable metrics that are not heavily influenced by factors like system congestion.
To ensure good behavior among node operators, NEAR uses a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Node operators willingly put a portion of value at risk as a deposit, which they forfeit if they operate improperly. Nightshade, NEAR's unique sharding solution, enables infinite scaling and near-instant transaction speeds without sacrificing decentralization.
Nightshade technology breaks the blockchain into sections (shards), each handling a fraction of the network's total load. Validators process transactions in parallel across multiple sharded chains, improving the overall transaction throughput and capacity of the blockchain.
Doomslug, the NEAR protocol's novel consensus mechanism, combines BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance) consensus with a finality gadget. Doomslug achieves two types of finality: Doomslug finality, which provides irreversible blocks after receiving pre-votes, and BFT finality, which is achieved after 2/3 of the network validators have pre-voted and pre-committed. Doomslug finality facilitates continuous block production and network recovery.
Who are the founders of NEAR Protocol?
NEAR Protocol was co-founded by Alexander Skidanov and Ilia Polosukhin. Skidanov is an experienced software engineer and entrepreneur who previously worked at Change.org and Microsoft. Polosukhin also held leadership positions at Google and NVIDIA.
The founding idea for the NEAR protocol was to enable the mainstream adoption of dApps focused on usability.
What is NEAR Protocol used for?
NEAR Protocol utilizes a thresholded PoS consensus mechanism, where validating node operators stake NEAR to guarantee the correctness of computations. The platform incentivizes node operators to validate transactions through epoch rewards, paying them a fixed percentage of the total token supply for their services.
It incorporates transaction costs, which are paid in NEAR and cover network usage and computation resources. Storage costs are addressed by maintaining a minimum balance of NEAR tokens on accounts or contracts. The protocol's inflation mechanism combines payouts to validators and the treasury while accounting for collected transaction fees, with a maximum inflation rate of 5%.
What makes NEAR Protocol unique?
Two notable aspects that set NEAR Protocol apart are human-readable account names and high transactions per second (TPS).
One of the challenges faced by many blockchain platforms is the complexity of addresses. Traditional blockchain addresses are long strings of characters that are not user-friendly, making it difficult for people to remember or share them easily. NEAR solves this problem by introducing human-readable addresses.
With NEAR, users can create and use addresses that are meaningful and resemble traditional website URLs, such as "name.near" or "moonpay.near." This feature simplifies the user experience and enhances accessibility, enabling a more intuitive interaction with the blockchain for both individuals and businesses.
Another significant advantage of the NEAR Protocol is its low barriers to entry for users. Mainstream adoption of dApps requires user interaction that is intuitive and seamless. End users should be able to use applications without encountering the complexities often associated with blockchain technology.
NEAR Protocol's emphasis on usability ensures that the underlying technology does not hinder the user experience, making it more accessible to a wider audience.
NEAR Protocol's scalability enables the platform to handle increased usage and accommodate the needs of globally-used applications. This scalability is essential for dApps to scale and serve a large user base without compromising performance.
How can I mine or stake NEAR Protocol?
NEAR protocol (NEAR) utilizes a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which means that instead of mining, NEAR holders have the opportunity to stake NEAR and participate in the network's consensus and block validation processes.
Below is a step-by-step guide to staking NEAR:
- Choose a compatible staking wallet such as Ledger
- Purchase NEAR via MoonPay
- Delegate your NEAR by selecting a stake pool
- Start earning staking rewards in NEAR
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More FAQs about Near Protocol (NEAR)
The price of {{token_name}} is determined by factors such as supply and demand, market sentiment, regulatory developments, and the adoption of blockchain technology. Price fluctuations can also occur in response to large transfers of the asset in a short time period.
NEAR Protocol's all-time high of $20.42 was reached on January 16, 2022.
Its all-time low of $0.526 was recorded on November 4, 2020.
The NEAR token has a total supply of 1 billion coins, with a current circulating supply of around {{circulating_supply}} NEAR tokens.Since the NEAR token is inflationary, there is no maximum supply.
You can buy Near Protocol directly via MoonPay or through one of our many partner wallets, such as Trust Wallet and Exodus.
MoonPay’s simple widget makes it easy to buy NEAR with a credit or debit card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more payment methods.
