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No sign-up required. Build a working prototype, publish a public repository and demo post, then submit by November 14 at 23:59 UTC.
NEAR Protocol
Sharded Layer-1 blockchain supporting 1.2s finality and cross-chain execution across 35+ networks
4.1/ 5
Our score
Very good
Layer
Layer 1
Consensus / design
Proof of Stake
Native token
NEAR
Block time
600ms
EVM compatible
No
What is NEAR Protocol?
NEAR Protocol is a sharded, proof-of-stake Layer-1 blockchain engineered to scale smart contracts and cross-chain agent execution. The network uses dynamic resharding to maintain 600-millisecond block times and 1.2-second transaction finality, while its NEAR Intents infrastructure coordinates execution across more than 35 external blockchains without requiring manual bridging.
Founding and financial backing
NEAR was founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov. Polosukhin previously worked as an engineering manager and researcher at Google Research, where he co-authored the 2017 Transformer architecture paper "Attention Is All You Need", and took over as CEO of the NEAR Foundation in November 2023. Skidanov was formerly the director of engineering at MemSQL and a software engineer at Microsoft. The project raised $12.1 million in July 2019 led by Metastable Capital and Accomplice, followed by a $21.6 million round in May 2020 led by Andreessen Horowitz, with additional backing from Dragonfly, CoinFund, and Hashed.
Network architecture and cross-chain execution
NEAR operates a sharded state architecture where smart contracts are written primarily in Rust and JavaScript. Unlike standard EVM networks, NEAR relies on its own WebAssembly-based execution environment. Users navigate cross-network transactions through NEAR Intents, which coordinates orders across networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana via chain signatures and sub-second settlement. The network also supports NEAR AI, an infrastructure layer pairing Intel TDX gateways and hardware-enforced trusted execution environments for private compute and autonomous agent workflows.
Economic model and operational fees
Transaction fees on the Layer-1 network settle in the native NEAR token. For cross-chain trades using NEAR Intents, executions feature sub-cent network fees. In October 2025, network governance reduced NEAR's annual base inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%. In February 2026, the network activated a protocol mechanism routing 100% of NEAR Intents fees directly into open-market NEAR token purchases.
Track record, security, and trade-offs
NEAR mainnet launched in April 2020. By October 2026, NEAR Intents had processed more than $33B in all-time volume across 125 assets, while total value locked on the network reached approximately $230M. In 2022, the ecosystem launchpad Skyward Finance suffered a $3 million contract exploit. In April 2026, a chain reorganization on the external Litecoin network caused roughly $600K of exposure inside NEAR Intents. Because NEAR is not natively EVM-compatible at the base Layer-1 level, developers building on the native sharded protocol cannot redeploy Solidity codebases directly without adaptation layers.
Founders
Illia PolosukhinCo-Founder and CEO of NEAR Foundation
Former AI researcher at Google Research who co-authored the 2017 Transformer paper Attention Is All You Need.
Alexander SkidanovCo-Founder
Former director of engineering at MemSQL and software engineer at Microsoft.
Best for:Developers writing smart contracts in RustUsers swapping across chains without manual bridgesTeams deploying autonomous AI agent systems
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fast 1.2-second transaction finality with 600ms block times
- Cross-chain swap execution across 35+ separate blockchain networks
- Sub-cent execution fees on NEAR Intents transactions
- Annual token issuance reduced from 5% to 2.5% in October 2025
- Over $33B in cumulative cross-chain volume processed by October 2026
Cons
- Not natively EVM-compatible at the primary Layer-1 execution level
- Cross-chain intents face reorg exposure on connected networks, including a $600K incident in April 2026
- Historical exploits in third-party ecosystem contracts, including $3M lost on Skyward Finance in 2022
Our review
4.1/5
Very good
NEAR delivers fast, low-cost cross-chain execution and agent infrastructure through dynamic sharding, though network TVL was approximately $230M in October 2026.
NEAR Protocol is a sharded proof-of-stake Layer-1 blockchain launched on mainnet in 2020. Co-founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin, a former Google AI researcher who co-authored the seminal Transformer paper, and Alexander Skidanov, former engineering director at MemSQL, the network combines scalable smart contract execution with cross-chain tooling. Smart contracts are written in Rust or JavaScript. Blocks settle every 600 milliseconds with finality of 1.2 seconds, and the protocol architecture supports throughput up to 1 million transactions per second.
The network's primary competitive advantage is its execution infrastructure. NEAR Intents enables cross-chain swaps across 35 or more blockchains and over 125 assets with sub-cent fees. By October 2026, cumulative Intents volume exceeded $33B, integrated across interfaces like Brave Wallet, Ledger, and Infinex. In addition, the NEAR AI stack uses hardware-enforced trusted execution environments and Intel TDX gateways for private inference, supporting applications from enterprise deployments to sovereign government pilots.
Several trade-offs affect the network:
- Protocol TVL on NEAR was approximately $230M in October 2026, lagging behind older Layer-1 networks.
- Cross-chain intent settlement introduces dependency risks, illustrated in April 2026 when a Litecoin chain reorganization caused roughly $600K in exposure through NEAR Intents.
- The native layer does not run an EVM execution environment directly, requiring developers to deploy in Rust or JavaScript.
Economic parameters have stabilized following an October 2025 governance change that cut annual inflation from 5% to 2.5%, followed by a February 2026 mechanism routing 100% of Intents fees into open-market NEAR purchases. The network suits developers building AI agent workflows or cross-chain decentralized applications requiring sub-second finality. The native layer does not run an EVM execution environment directly, requiring developers to deploy in Rust or JavaScript.
Specs
| Layer | Layer 1 |
|---|---|
| Consensus / design | Proof of Stake |
| Native token | NEAR |
| EVM compatible | No |
| Smart contract languages | Rust, JavaScript |
| Block time | 600ms · unverified |
| Finality | 1.2s · unverified |
| Mainnet since | 2,020 · unverified |
| Throughput (TPS) | 1000000 · unverified |
| Sequencer | Not applicable · unverified |
| Data availability | NEAR Protocol · unverified |
| Gas paid in | NEAR · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: Typical transaction fee, Validators / sequencer.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
Nightshade sharded consensus
Processes state across shards with 600-millisecond block times and 1.2-second transaction finality.
NEAR Intents cross-chain routing
Routes transactions and swaps across 35+ chains and 125+ assets with sub-cent fees.
Rust and JavaScript contracts
Executes smart contracts compiled to WebAssembly using Rust or JavaScript development frameworks.
Hardware-enforced confidential computing
Integrates Intel TDX gateways and trusted execution environments for private offchain agent inference.
Automated fee conversion
Directs 100% of cross-chain execution fees generated by NEAR Intents toward open-market purchases of NEAR tokens.
House of Stake governance
Coordinates protocol upgrades, treasury disbursements, and network economic parameters via onchain staking ratification.
Inside NEAR Protocol
near.com
A unified onchain interface allowing users to trade across 35 or more blockchains and 125 assets from a single account without manual bridging.
NEAR Intents
A universal cross-chain execution framework that routes orders across multiple networks with sub-cent fees and sub-second settlement.
NEAR AI
A private inference infrastructure that uses hardware-enforced trusted execution environments and Intel TDX gateways to isolate credentials and run confidential agent workloads.
NEAR Protocol
The sharded Layer-1 settlement blockchain providing 600-millisecond block times, 1.2-second finality, and high-throughput smart contract processing.
NEAR House of Stake
A stake-based onchain governance framework coordinating network upgrades, economic parameters, and treasury allocations.
NEAR Protocol screenshots
What users say about NEAR Protocol
A Reddit post describes NEAR's autonomous AI agents and NEAR Intents chain abstraction as features that set it apart. Conversely, serious complaints focus on failed swaps and missing funds on NEAR Intents alongside unhelpful or absent customer support.
Top goods
In their own words
“Swap? **Is ALEO → NEAR Intents completely broken right now?** I’m trying to figure out if I’m the only one experiencing this. Over the last couple of days I’ve tried swapping **ALEO → USDC, USDCx and SOL through NEAR Intents**, and basically every single swap has failed.”
“17 days, $193,000 gone: my swap FAILED inside NEAR Intents' own contracts, $0 refunded — InstaSwap and NEAR just point at each other. Please help me share this.”
“Funds sent from NEAR Mobile not showing in near.com account after 24h I sent 1.085648 NEAR from my NEAR Mobile wallet (niconear.near) to my near.com account ([address]).”
“My Ironclaw experience I have been using Ironclaw for a while for so many reasons lately. Every new update makes using it an amazing experience and life easier. The fact that I only need to stake some tokens to subscribe can't be overemphasized. Last week I used it to update my notion portfolio.”
“Product feedback IronClaw stands out as a genuinely security-first AI agent runtime credentials sit in an encrypted vault and are injected only at approved endpoints, so the agent itself never sees raw API keys or passwords.”
“NEAR Is Quietly Building What Most Chains Still Talk About While most of crypto is stuck in endless narratives, NEAR Protocol has been shipping real infrastructure at an impressive pace.”
Based on 200 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 20, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used NEAR Protocol? Share your experience below.
Funding and investors
$33.7MTotal raised
3Rounds
10Investors
FAQ
Who founded NEAR Protocol?
NEAR Protocol was founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov. Polosukhin, a co-author of the landmark 2017 Transformer research paper, currently serves as CEO of the NEAR Foundation.
What are transaction fees on NEAR Protocol?
NEAR Intents fees are sub-cent. Protocol fees collected through NEAR Intents are converted via open-market NEAR purchases.
What is NEAR Intents?
NEAR Intents is a cross-chain execution system enabling universal swaps across 35 or more chains and over 125 assets. It achieves sub-second settlement and sub-cent fees without manual bridging.
Does NEAR Protocol have a native token?
Yes, the native token is NEAR. It is used for transaction gas fees, validator staking, and governance, with annual inflation set at 2.5%.
Has NEAR Protocol experienced any security incidents?
While the Layer-1 core maintained continuous uptime across five years, ecosystem incidents have occurred. In April 2026, a Litecoin chain reorganization caused approximately $600K in exposure across NEAR Intents, and in 2022 the third-party IDO platform Skyward Finance suffered a $3 million contract exploit.
What programming languages does NEAR Protocol support?
Developers write smart contracts on NEAR Protocol using Rust or JavaScript. The Layer-1 core does not natively execute Ethereum Virtual Machine bytecode.
Latest from NEAR Protocol on X
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NEAR Hackathon Track: Privacy & Private AI.
⠀
Confidential compute, private finance and AI that protects sensitive data, build on TEEs and NEAR AI Cloud.
⠀
Intelligence without exposure.
⠀
Full hackathon details:
⠀
Confidential compute, private finance and AI that protects sensitive data, build on TEEs and NEAR AI Cloud.
⠀
Intelligence without exposure.
⠀
Full hackathon details:
NEAR AI Red is a new program for security teams putting private, verifiable AI to work.
Participants receive:
- Early access to upcoming models
- Dedicated support
- Input into the roadmap
Apply at https://t.co/FdBHUK3un2
Participants receive:
- Early access to upcoming models
- Dedicated support
- Input into the roadmap
Apply at https://t.co/FdBHUK3un2
Recent public posts from @NEARProtocol, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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