Is NEAR Protocol a good investment in 2024?

What is NEAR Protocol?

The NEAR blockchain with an open source code runs on Proof-of-Stake. PoS is a consensus mechanism many altcoins use. It is so popular that Ethereum plans to transition to it in the next few months.

NEAR is a decentralized platform for development of dApps. DApp stands for decentralized application. DApp platforms are currently at the peak of their popularity, with hundreds of cryptocurrency solutions, including specialized software for the banking sector using them. However, the majority of these platforms experience difficulties related to low hashrate and poor cross-compatibility. Moreover, many dApps that are currently trying to emerge on the market are indeed low competition due to the transaction execution speed that does not meet modern user standards.

The NEAR blockchain became popular, because its developers succeeded in resolving key issues typical for the competing projects. Thanks to innovative scalability solutions, NEAR made sure that the time and resources required to create and run decentralized applications are minimal.

As we’ve already mentioned, NEAR is a platform with an open source code; anybody can modify and improve it. It was a risky step for a young blockchain, but it was justified. As for the governance token, Near Protocol, which is used on this blockchain to ensure transactions, its price, trading volumes and other economic indicators are naturally determined by the popularity of the parent project. This is typical for all governance tokens.

NEAR coin features and functionality

We’ve already mentioned that the popularity of NEAR Protocol is determined by the popularity of its parent platform. This is true for all governance tokens. What is the conceptual advantage of NEAR? How does the system work? NEAR is a blockchain that is based on the PoS consensus mechanism with support of smart contracts that uses sharding and is controlled by token holders.

Sharding is a ‘template’ for blockchain apps development; it is a method for breaking down large data sets into small ones (shards). The scalability of the system is determined by its capacity to distribute the “shards” of a data set across multiple data servers. This also determines the high speed of processing requests in systems that use sharding.

This is a solution to the low speed issue, but how does NEAR manage to also be a cross-compatible system? It’s simple: the system uses Rainbow Bridge. This solution secures a bridge between NEAR and Ethereum, enabling the network to transfer not only its governance token NEAR Protocol, but also all ERC20 tokens and NFTs. ERC20 is a standard for token creation developed by Vitalik Buterin. Thousands of coins were created using this standard, for example Tron, EOS, ICON, Populous and others. Rainbow Bridge allows NEAR and Ethereum to even exchange smart contracts and ready-made dApps.

In terms of architecture, NEAR uses Nightshade. The mechanism implies that each block in the chain contains information about transactions that are happening right now on each segment of the other chain. Different segments have their own validators and they all work at the same time. This technology is unique to NEAR and allows the blockchain to process 100,000 transactions per second.

Is it worth investing in NEAR?

NEAR Protocol is used by the network to ensure its operation. It is responsible for security, is a unit for settlements and exchange both for the network’s resources and for third-party resources. It is a good idea to buy NEAR Protocol because it will become a savings coin for users in the long-term. Another feature of the NEAR network is that it is not only universal and secure, but it is also inexpensive to use, even if it scales.

The other important factor for investors is that the coin uses the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. It means that a new block is registered only if a sufficient number of validators confirm the validity of transactions recorded in it. To this end, validators delegate their coins to staking pools used by the network to validate transactions. Anyone can buy NEAR and provide some of it to a staking pool, receiving a reward for validation. This is actually called staking. Unlike mining, staking does not require provision of your technical capacities.

The NEAR price soared after the Rainbow Bridge was launched. The team is currently working on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which will be deployed inside NEAR. To put it simply, any Ethereum decentralized app will be ported to NEAR without changes and operate stably. Add scalability and progressive tokenomics to that and it becomes clear that the NEAR coin has a positive outlook.

How to buy NEAR?

Once you’ve decided to buy NEAR, you need to understand how to invest in it from a technical standpoint. Although exchanges may have different processes of registration, verification and trading, these differences are mainly based on the interface, not the mechanisms employed in the process. Below, we will look at a step-by-step algorithm of actions for Binance.

Registration

As soon as you open the website of the cryptocurrency exchange, it will automatically detect your region and language. If that does not happen, click on Registration in the top right corner. In the registration menu you can choose your region manually. You will also need to provide your phone number and email. Use your real information, because the confirmation codes to be entered during registration on the website will be sent to your email and phone.

You will need to come up with a password for your personal account that meets security requirements of the platform. It is not necessary to tick the box to subscribe to the newsletter. If you used a referral link, the Referral ID will specify the unique code of the user who invited you. This bears no significance on the registration and trading. After you’ve filled out all the fields, you need to pass anti-bot validation and complete the registration.

Verification

You cannot buy NEAR on Binance yet, because you did not verify your account and the platform’s functionality is limited for you. You can access the verification menu in two ways. First, at the top of the screen, you will see a yellow warning indicating that you’ve not passed verification. Click Verify. The second option is to bring your cursor over to the account icon in the top right corner of the screen, and click Verification in the context menu.

In the verification menu, you will see two options. The second one will not be available until you pass the first one. The verification types differ only by the available limits. Click Get Verified under the first verification (the second one is called Verification Plus). You need to confirm your region, enter your full name and date of birth and then your address. After that, the platform will ask you to provide scanned copies of your identity documents (passport or driver’s license). Pay attention to the requirements for the quality of scanned copies. As soon as you upload them, the verification process will start. It may take up to 10 working days.

Funding your account

In order to buy NEAR Protocol, you need to deposit funds to the platform. Go to Wallet in the top right corner of the screen and select Overview. In the menu that opens, click Deposit. You will be offered two ways to make a deposit: crypto or fiat. In our example, we chose fiat and were directed to another menu to choose the currency.

Next, you need to determine the payment method. The platform will offer your recommended options. As a rule, these are the options with the lowest fees. Select the option (for example Visa/MC card), and click Continue. Next, the system will redirect you to the relevant payment service. Follow the instructions on the screen. Once you’ve completed payment, the money will be credited to your Binance account shortly.

Buying NEAR

Once your account is verified, click Markets on the left of the main menu. A page with a list of assets and their basic specs will open. Find Near Protocol manually or use the search bar. Click Trade. Select Classic or Advanced platform.

Note that NEAR Protocol is traded on Binance with BTC, ETH, USDT, BUSB, BNB, RUB and TRY. This means that you can buy NEAR for any of these currencies right away. In the right column of the platform select NEAR/USD (for example). Go to the bottom of the screen and enter the amount of NEAR you want to buy. If you have enough funds on your account, click Buy NEAR and follow the instructions on the screen.