How To Buy NEAR Protocol (NEAR)?

A common question you often see on social media from crypto beginners is “Where can I buy NEAR Protocol?” Well, you’ll be happy to hear it is actually quite a simple and straightforward process. 

Step 1: Create an account on an exchange that supports NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

First, you will need to open an account on a cryptocurrency exchange that supports NEAR Protocol (NEAR).
We recommend the following based on functionality, reputation, security, support and fees:

In order to sign up, you will need to enter some basic information, such as your email address, password, full name and, in some cases, you might also be asked for a phone number or address.

Note: On specific exchanges, you might need to complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure in order to be able to purchase cryptocurrency. This is most commonly the case with licensed and regulated exchanges.

Step 2: Deposit funds into your account

Many cryptocurrency exchanges will allow you to purchase NEAR Protocol (NEAR) with fiat currencies, such as EUR, USD, AUD and others. Furthermore, they will also provide you with multiple deposit methods through which you can fund your fiat account, such as credit and debit cards, ewallets or direct bank transfers.

Note: Some payment methods will have higher fees than others, such as credit card payments. Before funding your fiat account on your chosen exchange, make sure to do your due diligence to find out the fees involved with each payment method to avoid unnecessary costs.

Step 3: Buy NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

This process is similar across almost every cryptocurrency exchange. All you have to do is find a navigation bar or a search bar, and search for NEAR Protocol (NEAR) or NEAR Protocol (NEAR) trading pairs. Look for the section that will allow you to buy NEAR Protocol (NEAR), and enter the amount of the cryptocurrency that you want to spend for NEAR Protocol (NEAR) or the amount of fiat currency that you want to spend towards buying NEAR Protocol (NEAR). The exchange will then calculate the equivalent amount of NEAR Protocol (NEAR) based on the current market rate.

Note: Make sure to always double-check your transaction details, such as the amount of NEAR Protocol (NEAR) you will be buying as well as the total cost of the purchase before you end up confirming the transaction. Furthermore, many cryptocurrency exchanges will offer you their own proprietary software wallet where you will be storing your cryptocurrencies; however, you can create your own individual software wallet, or purchase a hardware wallet for the highest level of protection.

For more in-depth instructions, our ‘Absolute Beginner’s Guide To Cryptocurrency Investing‘ will take you through the process step-by step. In addition to providing instructions for sending and receiving your cryptocurrency.
And if you’re completely new to crypto our beginner, intermediate and advanced level articles will get you up to speed with everything you need to know about the cryptocurrency space starting out. 

Simplecryptoguide.com

What Is NEAR Protocol (NEAR)?

NEAR Protocol is a decentralized application (dApp) platform and Ethereum competitor that focuses on developer and user-friendliness. Its native NEAR tokens are used to pay for transaction fees and storage on the Near crypto platform. NEAR is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain that uses sharding technology to achieve scalability.

NEAR Protocol is a smart contract capable, public Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain that was conceptualized as a community-run cloud computing platform. Built by the NEAR Collective, NEAR was designed to host decentralized applications (dApps), and strives to compete with Ethereum and other leading smart contract-enabled blockchains like EOS and Polkadot. NEAR’s native token is also called NEAR, and is used to pay for transaction fees and storage. NEAR tokens can also be staked by token holders who participate in achieving network consensus as transaction validators.

NEAR is the native utility token that is used for:

• Fees for processing transactions and storing data.
• Running validator nodes on the network via staking NEAR tokens.
• Used for governance votes to determine how network resources are allocated.

NEAR tools include:

• NEAR SDKs which includes standard data structures and testing tools for Rust and AssemblyScript.
• Gitpod for NEAR to create a zero time onboarding experience for developers.
• NEAR Wallet that lets application developers create streamlined user experiences.
• NEAR Explorer to aid with both debugging of contracts and the understanding of network performance.
• NEAR Command Line Tools to allow developers to deploy applications from local environments.

NEAR Protocol is focused on creating a developer and user friendly platform. To accommodate this mission, NEAR has incorporated features like human-readable account names as opposed to only cryptographic wallet addresses, and the ability for new users to interact with dApps and smart contracts without requiring a wallet at all.

Projects building on NEAR include Mintbase, a non-fungible token (NFT) minting platform, and Flux, a protocol that allows developers to create markets based on assets, commodities, real-world events, and more.

NEAR Protocol Technology

As dApps have grown in popularity, the crypto community has faced a growing scalability problem. Scalability in this context refers to a blockchain’s ability to handle a large number of transactions with reasonable speed and cost. Ethereum has particularly faced scalability challenges due to the high demand for its usage, and while some people advocate for scaling solutions to be built on top of Ethereum (Layer-2 solutions), other projects like NEAR have decided to build entirely new blockchains with different architecture.

NEAR Protocol’s proposed solution to this scalability problem is the implementation of sharding. Before diving into what this means, it’s useful to identify the three main functions of blockchain nodes: they process transactions, communicate validated transactions and completed blocks to other nodes, and store the state and history of the entire network. As network congestion increases, these tasks become more and more demanding for the nodes.

Sharding lessens the computational load by splitting or partitioning the network into shards (or fragments). With this tactic, every node is not required to run all of the network’s code — just the code that’s relevant to its shard — so shards can conduct computation in parallel with one another, thereby scaling the network’s capacity as the number of nodes in the network increases.

To achieve consensus among the nodes in the network, NEAR uses a PoS system. With PoS, nodes who wish to become transaction validators must stake their NEAR tokens to be considered for participation. Token holders who do not want to operate a node can delegate their stake to validators of their choice. NEAR uses an auction system to choose validators every epoch (approximately every 12 hours), and validators who have larger stakes have more influence in the consensus process.

Some validators are responsible for validating “chunks” — an aggregation of transactions from a shard — while others are tasked with producing blocks, which contain chunks from all the shards. Other nodes, called “fishermen,” observe the network and detect and report malicious behavior. If a validator behaves badly, their stake will be slashed.

NEAR Token Economics

The NEAR token is primarily used to pay transaction fees and as collateral for storing data on the blockchain. NEAR also rewards several stakeholders in the blockchain with NEAR tokens. For their services, transaction validators receive a NEAR token reward every epoch that amounts to 4.5% of the total NEAR supply on an annualized basis.

Additionally, developers who create smart contracts receive a portion of the transaction fees that their contracts generate. The remainder of each transaction fee is burned, increasing the scarcity of the NEAR token. NEAR has also established a protocol treasury, which receives 0.5% of the total NEAR supply annually, for the purpose of reinvesting in the development of the ecosystem.

NEAR Protocol is capable of supporting tokens that are “wrapped” from other chains in addition to NFTs. Likewise, NEAR has constructed a bridge with Ethereum, allowing users to transfer ERC-20 tokens from Ethereum to NEAR.

NEAR Platform Governance

Resources allocated to the protocol treasury are distributed by the NEAR Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit dedicated to protocol maintenance, ecosystem funding, and guiding the governance of the protocol. Technical upgrades to the NEAR crypto network are carried out by the Reference Maintainer, which is selected by the NEAR Foundation board, though all nodes in the network must consent to updates by upgrading their software. Eventually, oversight of the Reference Maintainer will be conducted by community-elected representatives.

NEAR Protocol aims to pull ahead in the crowded race to provide the infrastructure for Web 3.0 and has sought to distinguish itself through its unique developer and user friendly features.

Near Protocol development updates in 2023

In 2023, Near Protocol (NEAR) has made significant strides in its development and expansion. Here are some of the key developments:

• Ecosystem Growth: NEAR has seen a substantial increase in its user base and projects. Since its mainnet launch in late 2020, it has grown to 22 million accounts and 600,000 monthly active wallets, marking a 15-fold increase in users and projects in just one year.

• Strategic Partnerships: NEAR has formed partnerships with major applications and brands to leverage their large communities. These partnerships span various sectors, including sports, entertainment, and loyalty programs. Some notable collaborations include those with Grupo Nutresa, Google Cloud, and Sweat Economy, focusing on real-use cases like ticketing and earning.

• Empowering the Community through DAOs: In 2023, NEAR Protocol has shifted its focus towards empowering its community. It aims to achieve this through grants distributed by three major community DAOs: Developer DAO, Marketing DAO, and Creatives DAO. This decentralization is a significant step in ecosystem governance.

• Early-Stage Accelerator by NEAR Foundation: The NEAR Foundation is launching an early-stage accelerator to support emerging projects and founders. This program will offer comprehensive assistance, including education, technology, hiring, legal, UX, and go-to-market guidance, aiming to nurture these projects into significant Web3 initiatives.

• Technical Enhancements and Blockchain Operating System: NEAR is working on numerous technical advancements, including the development of NEAR Crowd and NEAR Social. It also focuses on improving onboarding processes and integrating features like EVM wallets, native meta transactions, and new chat/social capabilities. Additionally, proposals for account namespaces and wasm submodules, along with improvements in flat storage and state sync, are underway.

• Data Availability Solutions for Ethereum Rollups: NEAR Foundation is also developing “NEAR DA,” aiming to provide a cost-effective alternative for data availability solutions. This initiative is designed to relieve the Ethereum blockchain of the burden of storing and broadcasting large amounts of data.

These developments represent significant steps forward for NEAR Protocol, as it continues to grow and establish itself as a leading blockchain platform​​​​.

Official website: https://near.org/

Best cryptocurrency wallet for Near Protocol (NEAR)

There are plenty of different crypto wallets available. The best one for you depends on your general trading habits and which provides the most security in your situation. There are two main types of wallets: hot storage wallets (digital) and cold storage or hardware wallets (physical). Both have their pros and cons, and there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer when it comes to figuring out which crypto wallet is best for you.

HOW DO I DECIDE WHICH cryptocurrency WALLET TO USE for Near Protocol (NEAR)?

Deciding which type of wallet to use depends on a variety of factors, including:

• How often you trade. In general, hot wallets are better for more active cryptocurrency traders. Quick login ability means you are only a few clicks and taps away from buying and selling crypto. Cold wallets are better suited for those looking to make less frequent trades. 
• What you want to trade. As mentioned earlier, not all wallets support all types of cryptocurrencies. However, some of the best crypto wallets have the power to trade hundreds of different currencies, providing more of a one-size-fits-all experience.
• Your peace of mind. For those worried about hacking, having a physical cold wallet stored in a safe deposit box at the bank or somewhere at home, provides the safest, most secure option. Others might be confident in their ability to keep their hot wallets secure.
• How much it costs. It is important to investigate the costs associated with each wallet. Many hot wallets will be free to set up. Meanwhile, cold wallets, like any piece of hardware, will cost money to purchase.
• What it can do. While the basics of each cryptocurrency wallet are the same, additional features can help set them apart. This is especially true of hot wallets, many of which come with advanced reporting features, insights into the crypto market, the ability to convert cryptocurrencies and more. Security features can also be a good differentiator.

For a more in-depth overview of cryptocurrency wallets visit our “Cryptocurrency Wallets Explained” guide.

If you’re going to be dealing in larger volumes of crypto, investing in cold storage might prove advantageous.
Most widespead examples of this being the Ledger Nano and the Trezor.

Ledger manufactures cold storage wallets designed for users who want increased security. Their wallets are a physical device that connects to your computer. Only when the device is connected can you send your cryptocurrency from it. Ledger offers a variety of products, such as the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X (a bluetooth connected hardware wallet).

Trezor is a pioneering hardware wallet company. The combination of world-class security with an intuitive interface and compatibility with other desktop wallets, makes it ideal for beginners and experts alike. The company has gained a lot of the Bitcoin community’s respect over the years. Trezor offers two main models – The Trezor One and Trezor Model T (which has a built in touch screen).