NEAR Protocol Completes First-Ever Mainnet Halving, Capping Inflation at 2.5% and Ushering in a New Era of Sustainable Growth

The halving marks a historic milestone for NEAR, aligning economic policy with long-term network sustainability and governance innovation.

The NEAR Protocol has officially completed its first-ever halving upgrade on mainnet, marking a significant step in the blockchain’s economic evolution. The upgrade, activated once 80% of block-producing validators adopted protocol version 81, reduces the network’s maximum annual inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%, effectively cutting new token issuance in half.

The halving signals broad validator consensus and a maturing ecosystem that is ready to prioritize sustainability and long-term value creation.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, NEAR trades at approximately $2.1 with a market capitalization exceeding $2.7 billion, making it one of the leading layer-1 blockchains by active user base and developer activity.

What the Halving Means for NEAR Holders and Validators

The newly implemented halving will limit the annual inflation cap to 2.5%, a sharp decline from the previous 5%. This reduced issuance impacts staking economics and overall token supply growth, making NEAR more scarce over time.

Assuming that 50% of all NEAR tokens are staked, participants can now expect around 4.75% annual staking rewards, a balance between validator incentives and economic stability.

Beyond simple tokenomics, the halving introduces a broader economic governance framework under the newly launched House of Stake, an on-chain mechanism designed to coordinate validator decisions, manage inflation policy, and ensure transparent governance for future upgrades.

Together, these developments strengthen NEAR’s economic foundations and signal a move toward greater self-sustainability within its proof-of-stake ecosystem.

A Collective Push for Responsible Growth

The halving proposal was not a solo initiative but the result of a united community effort involving major ecosystem contributors such as NEAR Foundation, NEAR One, Aurora, RHEA Finance, Metapool, LiNEAR, and Hot DAO.

Each organization played a role in testing, validating, and supporting the rollout to ensure a smooth mainnet transition.

The collaboration underscores the ecosystem’s shared vision, to grow responsibly, reward participation, and align incentives between validators, developers, and users.

NEAR’s Five-Year Milestone: A Month of Major Achievements

The halving comes as NEAR celebrates its fifth year on mainnet, a period marked by steady growth in adoption, infrastructure, and ecosystem activity.

In October alone, the NEAR ecosystem achieved several major milestones:

• Mainnet Halving Completed: Annual inflation reduced to 2.5%.
•  House of Stake Launched: A governance framework for long-term economic decisions.
•  NEAR Intents Surpasses $3 Billion in Total Volume: Supporting over 120+ digital assets across chains.
•  Sovereign AI Digital Asset Treasury Launched by OceanPal: Designed to commercialize NEAR’s ecosystem through decentralized treasury management.
•  Zashi Swaps Goes Live: Enabling shielded ZEC cross-chain swaps via NEAR Intents.
•  Zolana Bridge Activated: The first-ever ZEC-to-Solana connection, powered by NEAR Intents.
•  Rhea Finance Launches Multi-Chain Lending: Opening DeFi access for ZEC using NEAR’s interoperability layer.
•  THORSwap Integration: Cross-chain assets now flow seamlessly using NEAR Intents.
•  Router, StableFlow, and Cashmere Integrations: Expanding NEAR’s reach into omnichain stablecoin trading and swaps across BNB Chain and beyond.
•  Calyx Launchpad Debuts First AI Token: NEAR Intents powers the first AI token launch, reinforcing the network’s role in next-gen asset issuance.
•  Developer Docs Updated: NEAR introduced a new unified developer path for streamlined onboarding and clearer ecosystem navigation.

Together, these updates showcase NEAR’s dynamic expansion, from DeFi to AI, cross-chain swaps to stablecoin liquidity, all built on a scalable and energy-efficient infrastructure.

The House of Stake: A New Era of On-Chain Economic Governance

At the core of this halving event is the House of Stake, a new governance mechanism that sets the stage for structured decision-making around NEAR’s economic policies.

Designed to evolve alongside validator consensus, the House of Stake introduces a transparent and systematic process for adjusting inflation rates, validator rewards, and treasury allocations, reducing the need for ad-hoc proposals and manual interventions.

This innovation could make NEAR one of the few major blockchains with a codified monetary policy, mirroring the transparency of central banks while maintaining decentralized control.

NEAR Intents: Expanding Cross-Chain Liquidity and Utility

Another highlight this month is the growth of NEAR Intents, which surpassed $3 billion in total transaction volume, supporting over 120 assets across major chains.

This cross-chain intent layer is fast becoming NEAR’s key differentiator, powering integrations with major protocols like THORSwap, Router, StableFlow, and Cashmere. Each integration expands the ecosystem’s interoperability, enabling assets and users to move fluidly between networks.

Projects like Rhea Finance and Zashi Swaps are leveraging NEAR Intents to unlock DeFi access for ZEC and bridge privacy coins to new ecosystems like Solana, marking a first for the crypto industry.

With inflation halved, governance upgraded, and cross-chain activity booming, NEAR’s trajectory points to a sustainable, community-led future.

As it enters its sixth year, NEAR stands as one of the few Layer-1 ecosystems balancing economic discipline with rapid innovation. The halving may be technical, but its impact is deeply symbolic, a signal that the NEAR community is thinking long-term.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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