What is Near Protocol and its cryptocurrency NEAR?

What is Crypto Near Protocol?

Discover the fundamentals of Near Protocol crypto below.

The origins of the Near Protocol project

The Near Protocol project was launched in 2018. The following three people contributed significantly to the development of the project:

• Alexander Skidanovspecialized in software development and who notably worked on behalf of Microsoft.
• Ilya Polosukhin who has extensive experience in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and worked for OpenAI, a firm now famous with its flagship product ChatGPT.
• Erick Trautmanentrepreneur who worked on Wall Street and created the Viking Code School, a school specializing in programming.

The goal of Near Protocol is to promote the development of decentralized applications (dApps) and the advent of web 3. NEAR is the native token of the blockchain, it was launched on the market in October 2020 and is used to:

• Pay validators of the network;
• Participate in the governance of the platform;
• Do staking to earn passive income;
• Benefit from reduced fees for developers who build their application on the Near network.

At the time of writing this guide, the capitalization of the Near Protocol project is very significant with 6.2 billion euros. This positions the NEAR token in the top 20 worldwide, alongside well-known cryptos such as Polygon (MATIC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Chainlink (LINK).

How Near Protocol works

Near Protocol is a blockchain layer 1 which specializes in the development of decentralized applications. These dApps can be linked to DeFi protocols, DAOs, NFTs, etc.. In this respect, Near Protocol is positioned in the same sector as Ethereum. The NEAR crypto is therefore one of the “Ethereum killers” like Solana (SOL) or Cardano (ADA), that is to say coins that compete with the leader Ethereum.

Near Protocol is distinguished from Ethereum by its very significant scalability, estimated around 100,000 TPS. Currently, Ethereum must rely on layers 2 (like Arbitrum or Polygon) to have decent scalability. Near also scores big points in terms of the environment with a blockchain which displays a carbon neutrality.

Near is more than a “simple” blockchain, its ecosystem also includes:

• A university (NEAR University) to train developers;
• A academy (NEAR Academy) to teach developers how to create dApps on the blockchain.

NEAR blockchain technology

If the Near blockchain displays excellent performance, it is thanks to its technology which is based on sharding. Called “Nightshade Sharding”, it allows data to be split instead of concentrated on a single node. This technology is also in place on Ethereum.

In terms of its consensus algorithm, Near uses a system called “Doomslug”. It is a derivative of the Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) model, used in particular on the Algorand (ALGO) or Cosmos (ATOM) network.

Finally, the Near team has developed several interoperability solutions between blockchains such as:

• THE Aurora protocol for developers which allows compatibility with the EVM;
• Rainbow Bridge which allows tokens to be transferred between Aurora, Near Protocol and Ethereum;
• The Octopus Network which guarantees the interoperability of decentralized applications developed on Near with other blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, etc.

Current Price, History and NEAR Price Forecast

The price of the NEAR token has really been talked about in recent months. Find out some information about its price.

NEAR crypto price history

The price of the NEAR token has experienced four clear increases:

• March – April 2020 : With a price which has exceeded the $5 mark for the first time;
• January 2022 : Near has reached his historical record on January 16, 2022 with a price of $20.42;
• April 2022 : After its ATH, the price fell sharply before recovering and crossing $17 again.
• March 2024 : After a bear market which started in April 2022, the price began a slow progression from November 2023 to get closer to $9 in March 2024.

The NEAR crypto price

Currently, the price of the NEAR token is $6.2. If it has been falling in recent days like all other cryptos, its price has shownexcellent performance since the start of 2024.

Over the last 90 days, the price of NEAR has increased by more than 110%. After Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Toncoin (TON), this is the third best performance in the world top 20. At the time of writing this article, the NEAR price trend is bearish, the fault of a complicated economic situation and the tense geopolitical context.

NEAR Price Forecast

Analyst predictions are generally positive for the NEAR price. Coincodex analysts especially see a NEAR price surge for 2025 with a price target between $6.2 and $28.87. By 2029, they envision that the price of NEAR could exceed $35.

On the Binance side, the predictions are much more measured even if they remain positive. The price target for 2025 is $6.5 and above $8 in 2030.

With its significant capitalization, the NEAR crypto is available on many centralized platforms (CEX) like Binance, Bitget, Coinbase, Bybit, OKX, Kraken, KuCoin, Upbit, Gate.io, HTX, etc.

Take the example of the Bitget platform. To buy NEAR on Bitgetthe steps are as follows:

1. Opening an account by completing an identity form;
2. Pass the verification and KYC (Know Your Customer) stages;
3. Deposit funds (by bank card or transfer) which will allow you to purchase cryptos or stablecoins such as Tether (USDT);
4. Go to the spot market tab and choose the trading pair that involves the NEAR crypto, namely NEAR / USDT.

What are Near Protocol’s plans?

Near Protocol’s TVL is $275 million. The Near Protocol ecosystem matters more than 240 decentralized applications which offer services in the fields of DeFi, DEXs, stablecoins, metaverse, music, launchpads, exchanges, staking, gaming, etc.

The most important DeFi protocols on Near Protocol right now are:

• Burrow, a lending app;
  • TVL of $200 million;
• LINEAR Protocol, Liquid Staking;
  • TVL of $145 million;
• Ref Finance, DEX;
  • TVL of $66 million;
• HERE Wallet staking, Liquid Staking;
  • TVL of $8.5 million;
• Phoenix bonds, Yield aggregator;
  • TVL of $7 million.

Our opinion on NEAR: A promising crypto?

Near Protocol is a promising blockchain. If it positions itself in a very competitive sector dominated by Ethereum, Near Protocol stands out by scoring big points in strategic areas such as scalability (100,000 GST), the environment (zero carbon footprint) and interoperability (compatible with Ethereum, Polkadot, etc.).

The blockchain is based on a strong team and cutting-edge technology which make it particularly suited to the challenges of the moment. Blockchain has attracted many developers as evidenced by its more than 200 dApps and its TVL of $275 million. In addition to decentralized applications, Near Protocol offers a large ecosystem that includes training modules for developers and decentralized governance via its DAO.