What is NEAR Protocol?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 6 min
In short
NEAR Protocol is a Proof of Stake blockchain launched in 2020 that puts user experience at the centre of its design, with human-readable account names and sharded execution. More recently it has focused on abstracting actions across multiple chains into single operations.
Key points
- Uses human-readable account names such as alice.near
- Splits processing across shards that run in parallel
- An account can hold multiple keys with restricted permissions
- Applications can cover gas costs on behalf of their users
Definition
A Proof of Stake blockchain that shards execution and aims to lower the barrier to use through readable account names and permissioned keys.
NEAR's starting complaint is that blockchains are too hard for ordinary users. Random-string addresses, gas required for every action and self-custodied seed phrases all get in the way. NEAR tried to soften these at the protocol level.
Accounts take the form name.near, so you can read a destination and check it. An account can also register several keys, each restricted to, say, calling one specific function on one contract. Separating an everyday key from one that can move funds means apps need not prompt for a signature on every action. Applications can also pay users' gas, letting someone start without holding any crypto at all.
For throughput it uses sharding, called Nightshade: ledger state is divided across shards that process transactions in parallel while presenting as a single chain. Capacity grows by adding shards as usage increases.
Recent work focuses on collapsing cross-chain actions into single operations. Distributed key management lets a NEAR account sign transactions on other chains, with the goal that users never have to think about which chain they are on.
Watch out for
- · Permissioned keys are convenient but make it harder for users to track what each key is allowed to do
- · Sharded chains are structurally complex, so failure behaviour is harder to reason about
- · Initial allocations unlock over time; check published schedules for how supply evolves
Frequently asked questions
Can I choose any account name?
Any unused name can be registered. Cost varies with length and short names are in demand. The name is the account itself, so transferring it needs care.