Exchange NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

Near Protocol, often referred to as NEAR, is a decentralized layer-one blockchain platform designed to provide a secure and scalable environment for building and deploying decentralized applications (dApps). It was designed to overcome some of the limitations and challenges associated with existing blockchain platforms like Ethereum, including scalability, usability, and developer-friendliness.

NEAR Protocol was founded in 2018 by Alexander Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin, who agreed on a vision to create a blockchain platform that would address some of the scalability and usability issues prevalent in the blockchain industry. They sought to make it easier for developers to build and deploy decentralized applications while the network remained secure and scalable.

Another important figure in the NEAR Protocol development is Erik Trautman. He joined the NEAR team early in the project's history, and his expertise in blockchain technology, and wide experience in building and scaling technology companies, have been instrumental in building a foundation for the NEAR Protocol's development. His leadership and strategic insights have played a big role in the platform's growth and success.

The NEAR team secured funding from various investors, including venture capital firms. The funds were used to develop the protocol, assemble a team of developers and researchers, and create the necessary infrastructure.

The NEAR Protocol mainnet was officially launched in April 2020. From this point, developers could begin building decentralized applications on the NEAR blockchain. 

The founders aimed to position the project as a competitor to well-known blockchain platforms like Ethereum, with a focus on sharding, PoS consensus, and developer-friendly tools.

Currently, the NEAR Protocol is under active development by the NEAR Collective, a dedicated community responsible for improving and upgrading the original code and rolling out ecosystem updates. The primary objective of this project is to create a platform with the dual promise of robust security, fit for safeguarding valuable assets such as currency and identity, while also delivering optimal performance to make these resources accessible and beneficial for everyday individuals.

NEAR uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which is considered to be energy-efficient and more scalable compared to traditional Proof-of-Work (PoW) networks. Validators on the network are chosen to produce blocks and secure the network based on the number of tokens they "stake" as collateral.

NEAR uses sharding, a technique that divides the network into smaller pieces (shards). Each of them can process transactions and smart contracts independently. This improves scalability by allowing multiple transactions to be processed in parallel.

The sharding design used by NEAR is called Nightshade and it helps to make sure all shards are connected and can communicate with each other efficiently. The project team has also developed the Rainbow Bridge, which enables assets to be transferred between the NEAR blockchain and other blockchains, like Ethereum. This interoperability is crucial for allowing developers and users to move assets and data across different blockchain networks.

NEAR focuses on simplifying the building of dApps for developers providing a lot of tools, including a software development kit (SDK), a web-based integrated development environment (IDE), and a strong developer community.

Another technology introduced by the NEAR Protocol development team is a Rainbow Bridge. It enables interoperability with other blockchains, most notably Ethereum. Rainbow Bridge allowed users and developers to move assets and data between NEAR and Ethereum. 

The project team also rolled out Aurora, a Layer 2 scaling solution developed on the NEAR Protocol. It is designed for Ethereum developers looking to deploy their decentralized applications on the NEAR network. Aurora harnesses Ethereum's coding technology, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), and incorporates a cross-chain bridge. This bridge enables the smooth connection of Ethereum smart contracts and assets with NEAR.

With Aurora, developers can use the benefits of NEAR Protocol, including low fees and high throughput, while retaining the familiarity and robust application network of Ethereum.

On October 25, 2021, NEAR released an $800 million ecosystem funding initiative, inspired by other Layer-1 blockchains like Avalanche, Fantom, and Celo. This fund aims to facilitate growth within the NEAR protocol ecosystem, backed by a substantial $350 million contribution from Proximity Labs.

Of the total fund, $250 million is earmarked to bolster existing projects, while $100 million is dedicated to Startup Grant Pools, supporting 20 startups with $5 million each. NEAR's primary focus is on funding teams in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space, particularly those reshaping our financial interactions. They're also actively seeking projects involved in NFTs, DAOs, and gaming.

Recently NEAR also secured $150 million in seed investment, led by Three Arrows Capital and featuring contributions from Mechanism Capital, Dragonfly Capital, a16z, Jump, Alameda, Zee Prime, and more. These funds will accelerate the adoption of Web3 technologies.

NEAR's native cryptocurrency is called NEAR. It's used for various purposes on the platform, including staking, transaction fees, and participating in governance. NEAR has a total supply of 1 billion tokens distributed as follows:

• 17.2% - Community Grants
• 11.4% - Operation Grants
• 10% - Foundation Endowment
• 11.7% - Early Ecosystem
• 14% - Core Contributors
• 17.6% - Backers
• 6.1% - Small Backers
• 12% - Community Sale

NEAR crypto can be exchanged, bought, and sold on the majority of popular centralized and decentralized exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Kukoin, Bittrex, etc. 

The average fees on the NEAR Protocol

Transactions on NEAR require a certain amount of NEAR tokens to be paid as fees to incentivize validators to include the transaction in a block. Transaction fees can vary depending on the complexity and computational resources required for the transaction.

As of October 2023, the average fees on the NEAR Protocol are around 0.212 NEAR ($0.23)

The NEAR token wallets

The NEAR tokens can be stored in a variety of wallets, including NEAR Wallet, the official web-based wallet for the project, Meta MAsk, Trust Wallet, Coinbase, Ledger Nano, Exodus, Moonlet, Atomic Wallet, Guarda Wallet, Huobi, Math Wallet, etc.