NEAR Protocol is a decentralized blockchain platform designed for building smart contracts and decentralized applications. It operates as an independent layer-one blockchain and aims to provide developers and users with a fast and easy-to-use environment.

One of the network’s main features is sharding, which divides transaction processing among several parts of the blockchain. This enables the network to increase its capacity without significant slowdowns. Low transaction fees and human-readable account names instead of long strings of characters also make the platform easier to use.

NEAR is the network’s native token and is used to pay transaction fees, store data and participate in staking, through which users help secure the network. The NEAR ecosystem includes decentralized finance, digital assets, games and tools that simplify communication between different blockchains.