NEAR Protocol
Fast Layer-1 blockchain with sharding — NEAR token, user-friendly development.
NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 blockchain designed for scalability and usability, with a native sharding system called Nightshade.
Key features:
1. Nightshade sharding • Horizontal scalability — multiple shards in parallel • Theoretical: 100,000+ TPS at full shard • Dynamic number of shards as needed
2. Aurora EVM • Ethereum-compatible layer on NEAR • Developers deploy Solidity contracts • Bridged ETH, USDC available
3. Account model • Human-readable addresses: "alice.near" instead of 0x... • Delegated keys (subaccounts)
4. NEAR token • Gas + staking + governance • Validator staking to secure network • 5% annual inflation
Ecosystem:
NEAR vs Solana:
Use cases: