NEAR Protocol’s Q2 Market Cap Holds at $1.25 Billion, Experiences 25% QoQ Decline

According to Mesari, NEAR Protocol, a leading smart contract platform, demonstrated resilience and growth in Q2 2023, despite being listed in the SEC’s complaint against Coinbase. The platform’s financial and network fundamentals remained stable, with strategic partnerships and grassroots initiatives driving user adoption.

The introduction of the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) in March 2023 marked a significant milestone for NEAR. Within four months, NEAR Social, the social layer of the BOS, attracted over 15,000 user accounts and saw the creation of nearly 6,000 widgets. The BOS, an open-source platform, allows developers to build on any blockchain using familiar languages and a broad set of community-built components.

The Sweat Economy, a leading application on NEAR, continued to thrive. Within a year, it accumulated a total of 19 million Sweat wallets and recently conducted one of the largest governance votes in DAO history, attracting over 350,000 participants.

NEAR’s circulating market capitalization stood at $1.25 billion at the end of Q2, reflecting a 25% decrease QoQ. However, the platform’s market cap quickly recovered following the SEC news, and NEAR ranked as the 40th largest crypto project by market cap at the end of the quarter.

NEAR’s native token (NEAR) is used for staking, transaction fees, and storage fees. As of Q2, approximately 81% of the total NEAR supply is currently in circulation. Stakers on the NEAR network are earning an annual staking yield of 9.4%, resulting in a real yield of 4.4%.

The NEAR Foundation’s treasury totaled $0.9 billion at the end of Q2 2023, which included $349 million in fiat reserves, 315 million NEAR ($435 million at a closing price of $1.38), and $90 million in loans and investments.

In terms of decentralization, the NEAR Foundation announced in early January that it is actively working towards a more decentralized model of capital allocation by handing over decision-making to community DAOs. The first community DAOs have already been created, each with a specific focus and mandate.

The second quarter witnessed significant developments, including high-profile lawsuits by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against major players like Binance and Coinbase. Despite regulatory uncertainty in the United States, the NEAR network remained resilient, with financial and network metrics showing stability throughout the quarter.

In conclusion, despite regulatory challenges, NEAR Protocol continues to make significant strides in its mission to drive adoption and attract more users to its platform. The introduction of the BOS and the continued growth of applications like the Sweat Economy are testaments to the platform’s resilience and innovative approach.

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