NEAR Near Protocol

Use Cases of Near Protocol

Near Protocol is designed to support a wide range of applications, including:

• Decentralized Applications (dApps): Near Protocol provides a scalable platform for building and deploying dApps, focusing on usability and developer experience. It supports various types of dApps, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, social networks, gaming platforms, and more.

• Tokenization and NFTs: Near Protocol allows developers to tokenize assets, create unique digital items, and build NFT marketplaces. It provides the necessary tools and smart contract capabilities for establishing token economies and enabling new forms of digital ownership and trading.

• Cross-chain Interoperability: Near Protocol offers interoperability through the Rainbow Bridge, which enables the seamless transfer of assets and tokens between Near and other blockchain networks, such as Ethereum. This feature unlocks opportunities for developers and users to leverage the strengths of multiple blockchain ecosystems.

• Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Near Protocol supports DeFi applications, making financial services like lending, borrowing, and trading more accessible and efficient. It addresses the challenges of network congestion and high transaction fees, making DeFi more accessible to newcomers.

• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Near Protocol provides an optimal environment for NFTs, offering higher speeds than second-generation blockchains. It enables creators to generate, share, and monetize content in new ways, creating a sense of digital scarcity and unique ownership.

• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): Near Protocol utilizes DAOs to eliminate bureaucracy and provide token holders with enhanced accounts, enabling them to manage tokens, NFTs, and other assets more effectively.

Pros of Near Protocol

• Scalability and Performance: Near Protocol uses a sharding-based consensus mechanism called Nightshade, which allows for parallel transaction processing and smart contract execution across multiple shards. This significantly improves scalability and increases transaction throughput, enabling the network to handle high volumes of transactions and accommodate a large user base without sacrificing performance.
• Interoperability: Near Protocol features the Rainbow Bridge, enabling seamless interoperability with other blockchain networks, initially focusing on Ethereum. This allows for cross-chain token transfers and integration with other DeFi protocols.
• Low Transaction Costs: Near Protocol aims to provide cost-effective transactions for users. The platform’s infrastructure and consensus mechanism are designed to keep transaction fees low, making it more affordable for users to interact with dApps.
• User-Friendly Experience: Near Protocol prioritizes usability and developer experience. It provides comprehensive documentation, software development kits (SDKs), and other developer tools to streamline the development process.
• High Efficiency: Near Protocol can process over 100,000 transactions per second thanks to its sharding consensus mechanism and can finalize transactions in about 1 second.

Cons of Near Protocol

• Governance: The initial token distribution allocated over 36% of the total supply to the core team and backers, which raises concerns about centralization. Additionally, only validators can vote on protocol changes, which leaves other users non-involved in the growth and development process.
• Centralization: The network has a relatively high degree of centralization compared to other blockchains, which could impact its decentralization goals.
• Competition: Near Protocol faces direct competition from major players like Ethereum, which could affect its adoption and market share.
• Limited Global Adoption: Near Protocol has relatively low global adoption compared to other blockchains, which could limit its reach and impact.

Founders of Near Protocol

The founders of Near Protocol are Alexander Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin. Here are some key points about them:

• Alexander Skidanov: A software engineer and entrepreneur who serves as the CEO of Near Protocol. He has a strong background in software engineering and has held leadership positions at companies like Change.org and Microsoft.
• Illia Polosukhin: A software engineer and entrepreneur who serves as the CTO of Near Protocol and has recently been appointed as the CEO of the Near Foundation. He has extensive experience in software engineering and has worked at companies like Google and NVIDIA. He is known for his contributions to TensorFlow and his research papers on data storage and distributed systems.

Key Investors in Near Protocol

• Tiger Global: Led the funding round that raised $350 million for Near Protocol.
• FTX Ventures: Participated in the funding round alongside Tiger Global.
• Dragonfly Capital: Contributed to the funding round, supporting Near Protocol's expansion.
• Republic Capital: Also participated in the funding round, helping Near Protocol reach a market cap over $10 billion.
• Hashed: Another investor in the funding round, supporting Near Protocol's growth.
• Blockchain Ventures: Participated in the funding round, contributing to Near Protocol's development.
• Other notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Multicoin Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Circle, and Mechanism Capital.

Halal Status of Near Protocol

• Halal Status: Yes
• Reason: Near Protocol is considered halal because it is a smart contract platform with no inherent impermissible activities. It uses a proof of stake (POS) consensus mechanism and does not inherently engage in haram transactions such as interest-based lending.