Near Protocol: A Platform for Limitless Creation
If you are a developer or a user who wants to create and use decentralized applications (dApps) without compromising on speed, scalability, or usability, you might want to check out Near Protocol. Near Protocol is a layer-one blockchain that aims to provide the ideal environment for dApps by overcoming some of the limitations of competing systems—such as low throughput, low speeds, and poor cross-compatibility .
What is Near Protocol?
Near Protocol is a software that incentivizes a network of computers to operate a platform for developers to create and launch dApps. Just as AWS allows developers to deploy code in the cloud without needing to create their own infrastructure, Near Protocol facilitates a similar architecture built around a network of computers and its native cryptocurrency, the NEAR token.
Near Protocol was founded by Alex Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin, two former Google engineers who wanted to create a more accessible and user-friendly blockchain platform. They launched the mainnet of Near Protocol in October 2020 after raising over $35 million from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Electric Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.
What are the benefits of Near Protocol?
Near Protocol offers several benefits for both developers and users of dApps. Some of these benefits are:
- Limitless scaling: Near Protocol uses an innovative technique called dynamic sharding, which allows it to split the network into multiple parallel shards that can process transactions independently. This enables Near Protocol to achieve infinite scalability and handle millions of transactions per second with minimal fees .
- Limitless usability: Near Protocol aims to make dApps more user-friendly by simplifying the onboarding process, reducing friction, and improving interoperability. For example, users can access dApps with their existing accounts from platforms like Facebook or Google without needing to create new wallets or remember complex seed phrases. Users can also pay for transaction fees using any token they want instead of having to hold NEAR tokens. Moreover, Near Protocol supports cross-chain communication with other blockchains such as Ethereum through its Rainbow Bridge protocol .
- Limitless creation: Near Protocol empowers developers to create dApps using familiar tools and languages such as JavaScript and Rust. Developers can also leverage the NEAR SDKs and APIs to easily integrate features such as identity management, storage solutions, oracles, and analytics into their dApps. Furthermore, developers can benefit from the support and funding provided by the NEAR community through various programs such as NEAR Grants, NEAR Guilds, or NEAR Accelerator .
How can I get started with Near Protocol?
If you are interested in learning more about Near Protocol or building your own dApp on it, you can visit their official website at https://near.org/ where you can find various resources such as documentation,
tutorials,
examples,
and
community forums.
You can also explore hundreds of dApps running on Near Protocol at https://awesomenear.com/ where you can find categories such as gaming,
finance,
social media,
art,
and
more.
If you want to buy or trade NEAR tokens,
you can find them on several exchanges such as Binance,
OKX,
Deepcoin,
Bybit,
and
Kraken.
Near Protocol is an exciting project that aims to make blockchain technology more accessible,
scalable,
and
usable for everyone.
If you are looking for a platform that allows you to create without limits,
you might want to give it a try.