While Ethereum may be the first blockchain to support smart contracts, many networks now have this ability. One of the most popular blockchain networks that run smart contracts is Near protocol. Many see this network as an Ethereum killer, making it one of the most preferred networks for smart contracts. The digital asset space is ever-evolving, with new products and services to improve user experience. Since Ethereum remains one of the most expensive networks due to the high gas fees, many crypto enthusiasts seek alternatives. Because Ethereum hosts many decentralized applications, the network tends to be congested and busy, making it expensive and slow.
What Is Near Protocol?
Near protocol is a public blockchain that supports decentralized applications, also known as dApps. Using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, it hopes to keep things simple, secure, and scalable. Today, Near strives to find solutions to problems faced on blockchain networks, such as low outputs and slow speed. One of the core features of this relatively new network is its support for dApps. Because of the growing number of products and services in the digital space, decentralized applications need a reliable, fast, and efficient user- and developer-friendly network.
In simpler terms, Near hopes to achieve this. It is important to note that many networks use a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. This mechanism requires lesser power than blockchains with a proof-of-work mechanism. That said, Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the oldest chains in the space and the most popular networks still using POW. POS has changed the mining process and has made mining easier than it used to be. This reduces energy consumption and also hastens the mining process. Scalable networks leverage this mechanism, helping users save costs spent on gas fees.
What Is A Decentralized Application?
A decentralized application is a software that runs on a blockchain without the need for intermediaries. One of the significant advantages of dApp is that it connects users peer-to-peer since there is no central body controlling it.
Today, there are many decentralized applications, most of them built with Ethereum. While Ethereum has a large part of the market share, new networks like Near hope to change the narrative. You can see decentralized applications as a part of modern technology that pushes to give humans power. In decentralized finance protocols, peers create liquidity and give loans to other users, making loans more accessible. Traditional financial institutions require numerous documents to grant loans, discouraging people from seeking loans. Instead, they opt for a system that grants loans without a go. While the DeFi industry is still in its early stages, it is one of the essential types of decentralized applications.
How Does NEAR Protocol Work?
Near works as the primary network or layer 1, so developers can build applications on it as they do on Ethereum. Since it’s the primary network, all transactions go through it, and users have to pay gas fees in its native currency. Since this network hopes to remove barriers to web 3, it plans to improve scalability through sharding. It calls this phase Simple Nightshade, which would mark the beginning of the network’s journey to a fully sharded blockchain. This hopes to improve security, speed, and scalability in anticipation of web 3.0 users.
There has been a lot of buzz over web 3.0 and how it would change the internet. While web 3.0 is still in development, blockchain service providers strive to make the transition seamless. Near is one of those providers hoping to improve the experience. According to the official website, this network was designed to be a shared network but was not built as such because of how complicated sharding is, and because the network was still new, it didn’t require sharding. However, due to increased demand, things have changed, and the blockchain may need to be sharded to increase settlement speed. Sharding is a popular way to scale blockchain networks, and it works by splitting the network into shards so that it can process transactions faster, thereby enhancing scalability.
What Is NEAR Token?
NEAR Token is the native asset of the Near protocol. Traders on the protocol can use the token to carry out transactions, run applications, and do other things. The native asset is also used to pay for transaction fees and for storage. The token is presently trading at $16.21 with a lot of promising things to come in the future. Near has a trading volume of $1,080,196,806. The token has an alive market cap of $10,875,918,744. There are presently about 644 million NEAR tokens in circulation.
Where Can You Buy NEAR Token?
Before buying Near, you need to choose the platform you want to buy it from. Some platforms where you can buy cryptocurrency include Binance, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the digital asset space. You can buy Near on Binance with your credit/debit card. You can also purchase NEAR ON crypto.com. If you need to buy Near on one of the most trusted platforms in the industry, you should buy on crypto.com.
How To Buy Near On Binance?
You can use Binance on your mobile phone or desktop, so choose any most convenient platform.
Step 1 – Sign Up/Log In
Create an account on Binance if you haven’t already. The platform requires new members to provide ID cards and other KYC protocols. It would help if you also chose a strong password to prevent others from accessing your account.
Step 2 – Deposit Funds
You can pay with a new card if you have not registered any credit/debit card. Here, you will be required to give the name on the card and the card number. After doing this, you can add the card and select it as a payment method. Once you’ve done that, you can proceed to confirm your order. Cryptocurrencies are volatile, so you need to confirm your order quickly.
Step Three – Buy NEAR
The next step is logging in and buying your cryptocurrency. On the homepage, you will see “Buy now.” Clicking on it takes you to a different page, where you can buy Near. On the new page, you will have the option of buying with your credit/debit card. You can select your currency and the amount of Near you want to buy in fiat. The system helps you calculate and see the corresponding number of Near tokens.
NEAR Price Analysis
NEAR, the protocol’s native currency is looking more bullish than ever. Even when the whole industry experienced a price fall, Near jumped by over 23%. This is a result of a fresh round of funding from Dragonfly Capital and other businesses. Near realized $350 million from the recent round, which would be used for expanding the growing network. This helped the coin remain bullish amid the market crash. Near is currently priced at $16.93, and it looks like it may retake its $20 all-time-high.
With the growing demand for Near blockchain, the native token has grown more valuable and may one day compete with Ethereum. And with the push for greater scalability and Integration into web 3.0, it may be attractive for developers hoping to build and deploy decentralized applications in the blockchain gaming or Decentralized finance sector. If things go well, Near might become one of the hottest coins out there. The recent round of funding could help the protocol improve on numerous things needed to become a stronger network. When it improves on this, users may find it a suitable alternative to Ethereum, thereby improving Near’s usability.
Conclusion
Programmable blockchain networks are becoming widely popular and available for developers to build on and deploy their applications. Near protocol is one of the newest networks in the space that has been performing well recently. Even the blockchain’s native token is a top performer, mainly due to the recent $350 million funding needed to expand the blockchain’s ecosystem.