Near Protocol (NEAR)

NEAR Protocol is a sharded, proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain designed for usability and scalability. In 2022, the network launched Stake Wars III, an incentivized testnet focused on onboarding Chunk-Only Producers ahead of Sharding Phase 1. The campaign aimed to expand the active validator set by 200 to 300 seats to enhance network decentralization. Participants deployed nodes on a dedicated shardnet, with successful operators receiving significant mainnet stake delegations from a 4.5 million NEAR reward pool.

Near Protocol is a Tier-1 Layer 1 blockchain known for its scalable sharded architecture. The NEAR Stake Wars IV: Attack of Transactions was a dedicated, time-bound incentivized testing program for the Phase 2 sharding upgrade, focusing on stateless validation. Participants were invited to join an early-access network called StatelessNet to test throughput, discover bugs, and generate traffic. This highly technical campaign rewarded contributors for running high-uptime validator nodes, uncovering vulnerabilities, and stressing the new architecture before mainnet deployment.

NEAR Protocol is a high-performance layer-1 blockchain engineered for seamless cross-chain interoperability and user-friendly Web3 experiences. The [email protected] Milestone Incentive Program is a targeted airdrop campaign designed to reward users who actively leverage Confidential Intents and Confidential Swaps on the near.com portal. Instead of immediate liquid drops, participants earned locked milestone tokens based on their time-weighted confidential balances and swap activity. Drop 1 distributed a total pool of 333,333 NEAR automatically to eligible wallets after the ecosystem reached a $70 million confidential TVL milestone and the NEAR 3-day VWAP held above $3.33 on September 21, 2026.

NEAR Protocol is a high-performance, layer-1 blockchain designed to be incredibly fast, highly secure, and capable of scaling infinitely. The network focuses on mainstream adoption by providing developer-friendly tools and user-centric features. NEAR Protocol Rewards is a continuous, merit-based grant program designed to incentivize developers building on the network. The initiative automatically tracks both on-chain interactions and GitHub activity to reward early-stage builders moving from MVP to launch-stage products. To date, the program has distributed over $200,000 to its cohorts, featuring successful graduates like Peerfolio and PingPay.

NEAR Protocol is a sharded, proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain designed for usability and scalability. NEAR Horizon is the official Web3 accelerator program and marketplace designed to support early-stage founders building on the network. Operating as an equity-free ongoing incubator, the program provides access to mentorship, service providers, and substantial compute credits. By fostering ecosystem integration, the platform acts as a continuous launchpad for decentralized applications - including a specialized track for user-owned AI initiatives.

Near Protocol is a high-performance, sharded, and scalable layer-1 blockchain designed to provide a highly accessible developer and user experience. NEAR DevHub is the ecosystem's decentralized coordination platform offering ongoing grants and bounties specifically tailored for developer tooling, open-source contributions, and infrastructure growth. This continuous funding initiative operates on a proposal-based model, empowering builders to define their scope, budget, and milestones. Since its evolution from NEAR Developer Governance, the program has disbursed numerous microgrants and task-specific bounties ranging from minor fixes to substantial open-source toolkits. Participants are rewarded in NEAR, USDC, or USDT directly on the mainnet upon successful sponsor approval and task completion.

NEAR Protocol is a high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralized applications, utilizing a unique Nightshade sharding design for linear scalability. To secure its core infrastructure, NEAR operates an ongoing protocol-level bug bounty program in partnership with HackenProof. Security researchers are incentivized to uncover critical vulnerabilities within the nearcore Rust implementation, consensus mechanisms, and cryptographic flows. The perpetual program rewards whitehats based on the severity of their findings, ensuring the continued resilience of the NEAR network.

NEAR Intents is a cross-chain trading and settlement protocol built on the NEAR blockchain, facilitating atomic peer-to-peer swaps and intent-based executions. To secure its multi-chain infrastructure, the team has launched a suite of ongoing bug bounty programs hosted on HackenProof. Security researchers are invited to hunt for vulnerabilities across the protocol's core components, including smart contracts, bridges, and SDKs. The program incentivizes responsible disclosure following a recent $3.8 million exploit, offering substantial rewards for critical findings.

Near Protocol is a highly scalable layer-1 blockchain built for developers and user-friendly decentralized applications. The project hosted the historical NEAR MetaBUILD 2 Hackathon to accelerate ecosystem growth and onboard new builders. The campaign featured a massive $1,000,000 prize pool distributed across multiple development tracks, including native blockchain tooling and cross-chain integrations. Attracting over 1,000 participants globally, it stands as one of the flagship developer events in the network's history.

Near Protocol is a high-performance, carbon-neutral layer-1 blockchain designed to be super-fast, incredibly secure, and infinitely scalable. In collaboration with NEAR AI and Hackbox, the network hosted the One Trillion Agents Hackathon, a global online competition focused on advancing decentralized intelligence. The event challenged developers to build the next wave of user-owned autonomous AI agents natively on the NEAR ecosystem. Running from late January to early March 2025, the hackathon attracted nearly 2,000 participants competing across multiple tracks for a total prize pool exceeding $100,000.

The Useful Agents Hackathon was a 24-hour sprint held in San Francisco, United States, co-organized by NEAR AI, SF Compute, and Electric Capital on March 14 - 15, 2025. Designed for builders to develop practical AI agents that reliably execute tasks and meet concrete performance metrics, the event notably did not require projects to interact with crypto or a blockchain. The competition offered a total prize pool of $20,000, alongside dedicated go-to-market support and free inference provided to participating developers. Over 100 developers participated, with top honors awarded for innovations in social media management, due diligence, and anti-bot event discovery.

The NEARCON Innovation Sandbox 2026 was a hybrid builder sprint and hackathon held virtually and concluding with a major showcase in San Francisco, United States. Organized in partnership with Funding the Commons, the event challenged developers to build production-ready applications leveraging NEAR's AI Private Cloud and intent-driven architecture. The competition saw exceptional traction, concluding with 484 participants submitting 85 active prototypes for an expanded $22,500 prize pool.

NEAR Protocol hosted the NEARCON 2026 conference in San Francisco, United States, gathering builders and researchers focused on user-owned AI and decentralized infrastructure. The event featured visionary keynotes, live agent demos, and deep technical workshops over two days. As part of the summit, participants could join the virtual Innovation Sandbox and the on-site Agent Wars hackathon. These builder initiatives distributed a combined prize pool of $15,000 and 4,000 NEAR to top projects.

NEAR Protocol is a high-performance, carbon-neutral layer-1 blockchain designed to be fast, secure, and infinitely scalable. The NEAR Foundation has officially teased NEARCON 2027, the next iteration of its flagship annual ecosystem conference. Following the success of the 2026 edition, which focused heavily on AI, privacy, and open infrastructure, the upcoming gathering is highly anticipated by founders, researchers, and developers. Exact dates, location, and registration details for the 2027 event have not yet been announced.