NEAR is a decentralized development platform built on top of the NEAR Protocol, which is a public, sharded, developer-friendly blockchain. The network runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism called Nightshade, which aims to offer scalability and stable fees.
The NEAR token (aka $NEAR) is a utility token which powers the NEAR Protocol blockchain and all applications which use it. It is used for:
NEAR tools include: