NEAR Protocol is a decentralized application platform designed to make apps similarly usable to those on today’s web. The network runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism called Nightshade, which aims to provide dynamic scalability and stabilizes fees.
NEAR is the native utility token of the network and has the following utility:
Fees for processing transactions and storing data.
To run a validator node on the network via staking NEAR tokens.
Used for governance votes to determine how network resources are allocated and where the protocol’s future technical direction will go.
NEAR Protocol created a set of tools for developers and end users including:
NEAR SDKs: A full SDK which includes standard data structures, examples and testing tools for Rust and AssemblyScript.
Gitpod for NEAR: NEAR uses Gitpod to create a zero time onboarding experience for developers.
NEAR Wallet: A reference implementation that is intended to work seamlessly with the progressive security model that lets application developers design more effective user experiences.
NEAR Explorer: To aid with both debugging of contracts and the understanding of network performance.
NEAR Command Line Tools: A set of straightforward command line tools to allow developers to easily create, test and deploy applications from their local environments.
NEAR Protocol launched its mainnet on April 22, 2020 with 1 billion NEAR tokens created at genesis. 5% of additional supply is issued each year to support the network as epoch rewards, of which 90% goes to validators (4.5% total) and 10% to the protocol treasury (0.5% total). 30% of transaction fees are paid out as rebates to contracts which interact with a transaction, while the remaining 70% are burned.