The blockchain sector witnessed a remarkable performer in 2023: the NEAR Protocol. It achieved a staggering annual growth rate of 201.59%, significantly outperforming Bitcoin's 39.14% and Ethereum's 94.16%. This impressive momentum is now being channeled into a groundbreaking fusion of blockchain and artificial intelligence. NEAR has announced the development of NEAR Intents, slated for a 2025 launch, which aims to create a new ecosystem where AI agents handle transactions, reducing reliance on manual developer intervention. Coupled with ambitious plans to build one of the world's largest open-source AI models, NEAR is positioning itself as a formidable and innovative ecosystem in the wake of Solana's rise to prominence.
An Overview of the NEAR Protocol
NEAR was co-founded in 2017 by Alexander Skidanov, a former Microsoft engineer and ex-OpenAI research associate. The NEAR protocol itself launched in 2020 as a third-generation blockchain built on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. This design allows it to process thousands of transactions per second, offering far greater efficiency compared to Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchains like Bitcoin.
A key innovation behind NEAR's scalability is its use of sharding. This technology partitions the network's computational workload into parallel segments called "shards," dramatically increasing the network's overall throughput and capacity.
For developers, NEAR provides a welcoming environment. The NEAR Foundation offers comprehensive documentation and examples, allowing teams to build smart contracts using familiar programming languages like JavaScript or Rust. Developers can also earn income from the gas fees generated by their contracts' usage.
Beyond technology, NEAR has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability. In 2021, it partnered with South Pole, a sustainability consultancy based in Zurich, Switzerland, to conduct carbon reduction assessments. This initiative supports ecological and climate balance through reforestation projects in Colombia, Zimbabwe, and the United States, maintaining a carbon-neutral status for the network.
NEAR incorporates advanced user features like Built-in Account Abstraction and Meta Transactions. Through the NEP-366 protocol, this allows third-party developers (acting as Relayers) to be assigned tasks by users (SignedDelegateAction) and even subsidize gas fees on their behalf. This serves as a powerful marketing strategy for projects looking to attract new users.
Furthermore, NEAR simplifies the user experience by offering human-readable account names, similar to Ethereum's .eth domains. Users can create an account using a Telegram handle or email address, securing their own .near domain without initially needing to purchase cryptocurrency.
Understanding NEAR Intents and Its AI Vision
NEAR Intents represents a strategic solution to a critical challenge in decentralized finance (DeFi): fragmented liquidity across isolated blockchains. This new framework is designed to let artificial intelligence agents act on behalf of developers and users, executing complex transactions seamlessly across multiple chains and unlocking novel functionalities.
Scheduled to be a core focus for NEAR in 2025, NEAR Intents will enable AI-powered agents to perform transaction services, with multiple technical parties participating in the protocol. Users will be able to leverage their existing tokens and assets for sophisticated DeFi operations like cross-chain trading, borrowing, lending, and managing diverse asset portfolios from a single point of access, thereby enhancing overall market liquidity. The concept was a major highlight at the recent Token2049 conference in Singapore.
The application of AI in DeFi is a potentially disruptive innovation. Automated AI systems are already prevalent in traditional finance for stock trading; bringing this capability to the decentralized world could revolutionize how we interact with digital assets. Given NEAR's strong transaction volume performance, its liquidity benchmark is certainly one to watch closely, leading many to speculate if it could follow a trajectory similar to Solana's ascent.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes NEAR different from Ethereum?
NEAR utilizes a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism with sharding technology, enabling higher transaction throughput and lower fees compared to Ethereum's current architecture. It also focuses heavily on user experience with features like human-readable accounts and built-in account abstraction, making it easier for non-technical users to onboard.
How does NEAR ensure network sustainability?
NEAR has committed to being a carbon-neutral blockchain. It achieved this by partnering with sustainability firm South Pole to invest in carbon reduction assessments and reforestation projects around the world to offset its energy consumption.
What are NEAR Intents in simple terms?
Think of NEAR Intents as a system of AI-powered helpers. Instead of you manually navigating different blockchains to swap or lend assets, you simply state your desired goal (your "intent"). AI agents then work behind the scenes across multiple chains to find the best way to execute it for you, simplifying the entire process.
Do I need crypto to create a NEAR account?
No, that's a key user-friendly feature. You can create a NEAR account using an existing email address or your Telegram handle, and you will receive a .near domain name. This removes a significant barrier to entry for new users.
What is the role of AI in NEAR's future?
AI is central to NEAR's roadmap. Beyond the NEAR Intents framework for transaction execution, the ecosystem has ambitious plans to develop one of the world's largest open-source AI models, deeply integrating artificial intelligence into the foundation of its blockchain operations.
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