Company
NEAR Protocol
4 interviews on Crypto Coin Show
NEAR Protocol is a sharded proof-of-stake layer 1 blockchain co-founded by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov.
It began in 2017 as NEAR.ai, an AI program synthesis startup, before pivoting to blockchain, and its mainnet launched in April 2020. The ecosystem is supported by the NEAR Foundation, led by Polosukhin as CEO since November 2023. NEAR now positions itself as infrastructure for AI agents and cross-chain activity.
Its main products are Chain Signatures and NEAR Intents, launched in 2024, which let users and agents request outcomes across many blockchains and which had processed more than 20 billion dollars in cumulative volume by mid 2026, along with NEAR AI for confidential, user-owned AI and the near.com consumer app. A fee switch activated in February 2026 directs part of Intents revenue to buying back NEAR. Governance runs through the stake-weighted House of Stake.
24:51Latest interview · Oct 1, 2026Illia Polosukhin on NEAR's privacy features and AI agents in 2026Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, joins Ashton Addison on the Crypto Coin Show to break down everything NEAR has shipped since June: privacy by default across trading, confidential perps, IronClaw for AI agents, tokenized stocks through NEAR Intents, quantum-safe signing on mainnet, and the…Watch the episode →People we’ve interviewed
About NEAR Protocol
- Chain TVL
- $165.26M DefiLlama
- Type
- Layer 1 blockchain, AI infrastructure
- Structure
- Protocol
- Founded
- 2017
Links go to official NEAR Protocol channels. Always verify before connecting a wallet.
Funding and backers
As stated in Crypto Coin Show interviews and coverage. This is not a complete funding history.
By the numbers
Figures the NEAR Protocol team shared on the show. Tap one to watch that moment.
What NEAR Protocol told us
3 moments · 4 interviewsIn their own words on Crypto Coin Show. Tap Watch to jump to that exact moment.
“We just recently announced 800 million grants, 350 allocated for DeFi projects through Proximity Labs and 450 for ecosystem funds.”
SASherif AbushadiEducation at NEAR Protocol · Dec 2021▶Watch at 10:11
IPIllia Polosukhin · Illia Polosukhin on NEAR's privacy features and AI agents in 2026- NEAR has implemented privacy by default for trading and confidential perpetuals, addressing concerns about exposing financial strategies to competitors and malicious actors.
- NEAR Intents aggregates liquidity across multiple blockchains and traditional exchanges, enabling large tokenized stock purchases like $10M Nvidia shares without excessive slippage.
- IPIllia Polosukhin · Illia Polosukhin on NEAR Protocol building for AI agents
- NEAR is shipping post-quantum cryptography as a major layer-one upgrade, allowing users to upgrade wallets with a single click without moving assets.
- Dynamic re-sharding enables NEAR to automatically scale network capacity up or down based on transaction demand, eliminating manual governance upgrades.
- SASherif Abushadi · Sherif Abushadi on NEAR Protocol's education platform and developer programs
“People are coming in and learning how to spell Near on a Thursday, building a demo before dinner, and then starting fellowship full-time paid work in the community on Monday.”
▶Watch at 8:58 - IPIllia Polosukhin · Illia Polosukhin on NEAR Protocol's developer ecosystem and rainbow bridge
“We're actually burning 70 percent of the fee and the 30 percent actually goes to the contracts that were used in this transaction.”
▶Watch at 15:27
Products
- NEAR IntentsCross-chain swap service aggregating liquidity across blockchains
- Confidential IntentsPrivacy-enabled trading and transfers across assets
- ShieldSystem detecting and flagging high-risk transactions
- IronClawInfrastructure for AI agents to execute transactions
- Rainbow BridgeTrustless bridge to Ethereum enabling cross-chain applications
- NEAR Certified DeveloperEducation program for onboarding blockchain developers
Timeline
- Bitwise launched first US spot NEAR exchange-traded fund CCS coverage, Oct 2026
- Polosukhin proposes a NEAR sovereign wealth fund seeded with about 30 million NEAR from the treasury
- Integrated Hyperliquid perpetuals into NEAR Intents CCS interview, Jun 2026
- Dynamic resharding and post-quantum cryptography reach testnet; cumulative Intents volume passes 20 billion dollars
- Launched confidential intents for private trading and transfers CCS interview, Jun 2026
- Protocol fee switch is activated, directing part of NEAR Intents revenue to NEAR buybacks
- Annual inflation reportedly halved from 5 percent to 2.5 percent late in the year
- Chain Signatures and NEAR Intents launch
- Illia Polosukhin becomes CEO of the NEAR Foundation
- Raised $150M
- First interview on Crypto Coin Show Watch
- Raised $21.6M (Token sale round)
- NEAR mainnet launches
- Raised $12.1M (Venture round)
- NEAR Protocol founded
Partners and integrations
As named in Crypto Coin Show interviews and coverage.
Market
Market data: CoinGecko. Full NEAR price page →
NEAR Protocol in the news
North Korean hackers laundered $430,000 in stolen NEAR through meme coins on decentralized exchangesNov 9, 2026
NEAR Intents service exploited for $3.8 million two days after Bitwise ETF launchOct 1, 2026
NEAR’s Confidential Intents hits $70M TVL, triggering [email protected] reward programSep 21, 2026
NEAR joins x402 Foundation to help build payment rails for AI agentsSep 21, 2026
NEAR’s Breakout Moment: A Hyperliquid Integration and a Platform Built for the “Intent Economy”Jun 13, 2026Interviews with NEAR Protocol
30:42Illia Polosukhin on NEAR Protocol building for AI agentsJun 16, 2026 · Illia Polosukhin, NEAR Protocol
13:29Sherif Abushadi on NEAR Protocol's education platform and developer programsDec 24, 2021 · Sherif Abushadi, NEAR Protocol
20:58Illia Polosukhin on NEAR Protocol's developer ecosystem and rainbow bridgeApr 25, 2021 · Illia Polosukhin, NEAR ProtocolSimilar companies on Crypto Coin Show
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