NEAR Protocol is a decentralized blockchain network launched in April 2020 and developed by Alex Skidanov, Illia Polosukhin and the Near Foundation. Near Protocol was created to help developers easily create decentralized applications (DApps) and maintain scalability. NEAR Protocol works on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and uses a scaling solution called Nightshade, which aims to create a highly scalable and cost-effective platform.

The NEAR Protocol network uses a Sharding structure, designed to solve problems related to system design. This structure allows users to create scalable decentralized applications (Dapps) and operational governance structures, evolving the protocol continuously so that it does not become obsolete.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is a utility token of the NEAR Protocol ecosystem and is used for the following purposes:

• Pay for buying, selling, exchanging and paying for DeFi apps
• Paying fees for transaction processing and data storage systems
• Admin vote to determine how network resources are allocated and the future technical direction of the protocol
• Run validation node, staking to earn rewards