NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is a decentralized application platform designed to provide a scalable, developer-friendly, and secure platform for dApps by fostering blockchain interoperability, scalability, and efficiency.
The platform's native cryptocurrency, NEAR, is utilized for transaction fees, storage, and staking as part of the network's security mechanism.
Launched in 2020 by Alex Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin, NEAR aims to address common blockchain issues such as low transaction speeds, high costs, and complex user experiences that have hindered widespread adoption. Doomslug, Simple Nightshade, and Rainbow Bridge are three core technologies of NEAR Protocol.
Doomslug is NEAR’s block production method, a variant of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) that achieves “practical finality” after just one round of confirmation, significantly reducing the risk of forks and enhancing security without slashing validators’ stakes. It selects a rotating committee of validators for each block, ensuring equitable participation and resilience against attacks.
Simple Nightshade is NEAR’s sharding solution designed to scale the network linearly by breaking down the blockchain state into smaller, manageable shards. This sharding mechanism allows for parallel transaction processing, increasing the network’s capacity and efficiency. The system incentivizes the addition of more shards based on demand, theoretically enabling infinite scaling without congestion.
The Rainbow Bridge facilitates secure, trustless interoperability between NEAR and other blockchains, for a multi-chain future. This permissionless bridge supports the seamless transfer of assets and information across blockchain ecosystems, making decentralized finance (DeFi) more accessible and promoting a more interconnected blockchain space.
