NEAR Protocol is a highly scalable foundational protocol that ensures DApps run sufficiently fast on mobile devices.
NEAR Protocol allows developers to build and run blockchain DApps natively on users devices while providing them with critical information about their DApps. Through state sharding, it enables the blockchain to scale linearly with the number of nodes in the network, targeting 100k TPS based on one million mobile nodes.
NEAR is used to pay for validator fees, where validators provide scarce computing and storage resources to the network.
Project Introduction
NEAR Protocol is a decentralized application platform designed to make applications as usable as those on todays web. The network runs on a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism called Nightshade, aimed at providing dynamic scalability and stable fee rates.
NEAR is the native functional token within the network, with the following use cases:
Fees for processing transactions and storing data.
Staking NEAR tokens to run network validation nodes.
Voting for network governance to decide how network resources are allocated and the technical direction of the protocol’s future.
NEAR Protocol creates a suite of tools for developers and users, including:
NEAR SDKs: A comprehensive SDK toolkit, including standard data structures, examples, and testing tools for Rust and AssemblyScript.
NEAR Gitpod: NEAR uses Gitpod to create a great onboarding experience for developers.
NEAR Wallet: A wallet reference implementation designed to seamlessly work with a progressive security model, enabling app developers to design more effective user experiences.
NEAR Browser: Assists with contract debugging and understanding network performance.
NEAR Console Tools: A set of simple command-line tools that enable developers to easily create, test, and deploy applications from their local environment.
The NEAR Protocol launched its mainnet on April 22, 2020, creating one billion NEAR tokens. An additional 5% of the supply is issued annually as block rewards, with 90% allocated to validators (totaling 4.5%) and 10% to the protocol reserve pool (totaling 0.5%). 30% of transaction fees are paid out as rebates to contracts interacting with the transactions, while the remaining 70% are burned.
