What Is NEAR Protocol: Layer-1 Blockchain Guide

NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 blockchain, meaning a foundational network that processes its own transactions and security independently, built on Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus and designed for speed, low cost, and developer accessibility. It uses a proprietary sharding architecture called Nightshade to process transactions in parallel across multiple segments of the network, enabling transaction finality of approximately one to two seconds and fees under $0.001. NEAR supports smart contracts, which are self-executing programs stored on a blockchain that automatically enforce agreement terms without a trusted intermediary, written in both Rust and JavaScript, making it one of the few blockchains accessible to the world's largest programming community.

TL;DR

• NEAR Protocol is a fast, low-cost Layer-1 blockchain using Proof of Stake consensus
• Its Nightshade sharding system divides transaction processing across parallel segments, scaling throughput without sacrificing security
• The $NEAR token pays transaction fees, secures the network through staking, and enables governance
• NEAR was founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov; its mainnet launched in October 2020
• The NEAR ecosystem includes DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, Aurora (EVM compatibility), and the Rainbow Bridge (cross-chain transfers to Ethereum)

On this page:

• NEAR Protocol at a Glance
• The Origins of NEAR Protocol
• How NEAR Protocol Works
• The $NEAR Token
• NEAR Protocol Key Features
• The NEAR Ecosystem
• NEAR vs. Other Blockchains
• How to Buy and Stake NEAR
• Is NEAR Protocol Worth Paying Attention To?
• Frequently Asked Questions About NEAR Protocol

NEAR Protocol at a Glance

The table below captures NEAR Protocol's key attributes at a glance.

NEAR is not an acronym. The name reflects the founding vision of making blockchain technology as accessible and near to everyday users as the modern internet.

For live $NEAR price and market capitalization data, visit CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko. These figures change continuously and are not included as static numbers in this article.

The Origins of NEAR Protocol

NEAR Protocol was co-founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov. Polosukhin, a former Google engineer, is a co-author of the landmark 2017 AI research paper "Attention Is All You Need," which introduced the Transformer architecture that now underpins virtually every modern AI system, including the large language models behind ChatGPT. Skidanov, a former software engineer at Microsoft and MemSQL (now SingleStore), brought deep expertise in distributed systems directly relevant to NEAR's sharding architecture. The NEAR mainnet launched in October 2020.

The NEAR Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, was established to oversee and fund the protocol's development and ecosystem growth. The Foundation funds developer grants, ecosystem projects, and protocol governance, but it is a distinct legal entity from NEAR Protocol itself. The protocol is designed to operate in a decentralized manner independent of the Foundation over time.

The founding motivation was practical: Polosukhin and Skidanov believed existing blockchains were too slow, expensive, and technically complex for mainstream adoption. Ethereum had pioneered smart contract development, but its scalability limitations and high transaction fees created barriers for developers and users alike. NEAR was designed from the ground up to close that gap, targeting the usability of today's mainstream internet applications while preserving blockchain's core properties of decentralization and security.

Web3, the broader vision of an internet built on decentralized blockchain networks where users own their data and digital assets rather than corporations, provides the macro context for NEAR's purpose. NEAR Protocol is positioned as foundational infrastructure for this vision, providing the speed, low cost, and developer tooling needed to make decentralized applications as usable as conventional software.

How NEAR Protocol Works

NEAR Protocol works by combining Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus with a proprietary sharding system called Nightshade, enabling transaction finality of approximately one to two seconds and fees under $0.001. Validators stake $NEAR tokens to participate in block production, while Nightshade divides the network into parallel processing segments, each handling a portion of transactions simultaneously. Smart contracts on NEAR can be written in Rust or JavaScript via AssemblyScript, and gas fees, which are the transaction costs paid to compensate validators for computing resources, are denominated in $NEAR.

Nightshade Sharding Explained

Sharding in NEAR refers to Nightshade, NEAR's proprietary architecture that divides the blockchain into parallel processing segments called shards. Each shard processes a portion of network transactions simultaneously, allowing NEAR's throughput to scale as new shards are added without sacrificing decentralization or security.

Think of it this way: Imagine a single-lane road trying to handle all the traffic in a busy city. As more vehicles arrive, the road becomes congested and everything slows down. Traditional blockchains work the same way: one chain processes all transactions in sequence. Nightshade is like expanding that single road into a multi-lane highway. Each lane is a shard, handling its own traffic at the same time, so the network can process far more transactions in parallel without any single lane becoming a bottleneck.

The technical mechanism behind this is Nightshade's chunk-based architecture. Each shard does not produce a complete block independently. Instead, each shard produces a "chunk," which is a portion of the block. All chunks from all shards are then combined into a single final block for the entire network. This approach preserves the appearance of a single unified blockchain while distributing the processing load across multiple shards in parallel, and it is this chunk-based design that distinguishes Nightshade from earlier sharding implementations.

NEAR's development roadmap includes Stateless Validation as the next phase of Nightshade's evolution, a further architectural improvement designed to reduce the data that validators must store locally while maintaining network security. For a deeper technical treatment, see the Nightshade sharding whitepaper.

Proof of Stake Consensus

Yes, NEAR Protocol uses Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus. Instead of energy-intensive computation as in Bitcoin's Proof of Work model, NEAR relies on validators who lock up, or stake, $NEAR tokens to earn the right to validate transactions and produce new blocks, earning staking rewards in return.

Bitcoin uses competing computing power to determine who adds the next block. NEAR uses competing staked capital. Validators are network participants who run specialized nodes and stake $NEAR tokens as a security deposit. Their job is to process transactions and produce blocks, earning $NEAR rewards for honest participation. Dishonest behavior triggers "slashing," meaning the validator loses a portion of their staked tokens, creating a direct financial incentive for honest operation.

As of early 2025, NEAR has approximately 100 or more active validators on mainnet. Verify current figures at nearblocks.io/nodes/validators, as validator numbers change over time.

Because Proof of Stake does not require the energy-intensive computation of Proof of Work, NEAR consumes a fraction of the energy that Bitcoin requires. This connects directly to NEAR Protocol's carbon neutral certification, covered in the Key Features section below. For validator documentation and staking details, visit the NEAR validator documentation.

NEAR's Account Model and Developer Experience

NEAR uses human-readable account names, such as alice.near or mycompany.near, instead of Ethereum's long hexadecimal address strings like 0x1a2b3c4d. This design reduces the risk of sending funds to a wrong address and meaningfully lowers onboarding friction for everyday users who find character strings difficult to verify.

At the technical level, NEAR accounts support multiple key pairs with configurable access permissions, a form of account abstraction that enables session keys and delegated transactions without requiring users to sign every action with their primary key.

NEAR supports smart contract development in two languages: Rust, a high-performance systems language, and JavaScript via AssemblyScript. This makes NEAR one of the few blockchains to offer native JavaScript support, opening blockchain development to the world's largest programming community without requiring web developers to learn an entirely new language. For full documentation, SDKs, and developer tools including tutorials and testnet access, see NEAR developer documentation.

The $NEAR Token

The $NEAR token is the native cryptocurrency of NEAR Protocol. It serves four primary functions: paying transaction fees (gas), staking to secure the network and earn rewards, participating in protocol governance, and covering storage costs on-chain. The $NEAR token is sometimes colloquially called "NEAR coin," but technically it is a token on a Layer-1 blockchain. The distinction is minor for most users; what matters is that $NEAR is the currency powering all activity on the NEAR network.

What Is $NEAR Used For?

• Gas fees: Every transaction on NEAR requires a small $NEAR payment to compensate validators for processing. Fees are typically under $0.001 per transaction, fractions of a cent, verified against current figures at nearblocks.io.
• Staking: $NEAR holders can stake their tokens to help secure the network and earn staking rewards. Staking means locking up tokens to support network security in exchange for earning rewards. Two participation forms are available: delegating to a validator pool (no technical requirements) or running a validator node (requires technical expertise and a minimum stake).
• Governance: $NEAR holders can vote on protocol upgrade proposals and ecosystem decisions, giving token holders a direct role in the protocol's direction.
• Storage staking: NEAR's unique storage model requires accounts to stake a small amount of $NEAR to cover the cost of on-chain data storage. This design prevents blockchain state bloat and is a genuine differentiator not common among competing networks.

NEAR Tokenomics

NEAR Protocol's total supply at genesis was 1 billion $NEAR tokens, with new tokens minted annually as validator and delegator rewards.

The inflation mechanism runs at approximately 5 percent annually as of the time of writing, though this figure is subject to change. Verify the current rate at NEAR Foundation tokenomics documentation before relying on it for any decision. Countering this inflation is a burn mechanism: a portion of every transaction fee is permanently removed from circulation, creating a deflationary counterbalance to newly minted supply.

Staking on NEAR operates through two channels. The first is delegation: any $NEAR holder can connect a NEAR wallet, choose a validator from the active set, and delegate their tokens. Staking rewards accrue automatically with no minimum stake and no technical expertise required. The second is running a validator node directly, which requires dedicated server hardware, technical expertise, and a minimum stake (verify the current minimum at NEAR validator documentation).

Staking yield note: Historically, NEAR staking yields have ranged from approximately 8 to 11 percent APY, but yields are variable and depend on the total staked supply, the number of active validators, and network conditions. Verify current rates at near.org/validators before making any decisions. Past yields do not indicate future returns.

For current $NEAR price and market capitalization, visit CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko. Any static figure in this article may be outdated.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including the potential loss of your entire investment. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

NEAR Protocol Key Features

NEAR Protocol's architecture produces several distinct advantages over competing Layer-1 blockchains, along with limitations worth understanding before forming any view of the network.

Advantages

• High throughput and low fees: Nightshade sharding enables high transaction throughput with fees typically under $0.001, making NEAR practical for microtransactions and decentralized finance at scale.
• Fast finality: Transactions reach finality in approximately one to two seconds, compared to Ethereum's confirmation times that can run to several minutes on mainnet.
• Developer accessibility: JavaScript smart contract support removes the language barrier for the world's largest developer community entering blockchain development.
• Human-readable accounts: NEAR's account naming system, for example alice.near, reduces onboarding friction compared to Ethereum's hexadecimal address format.
• Carbon neutral: NEAR Protocol was certified carbon neutral by South Pole, a leading global climate solutions provider, in 2021, making it one of the few blockchain networks to hold verified third-party environmental certification.
• Ethereum compatibility via Aurora: The Aurora EVM layer allows Ethereum developers to deploy existing smart contracts on NEAR without code changes, bringing Ethereum's developer ecosystem to NEAR's infrastructure.
• Cross-chain interoperability via Rainbow Bridge: The Rainbow Bridge enables trustless asset transfers between NEAR and Ethereum without relying on a centralized intermediary.

Carbon neutral certification: NEAR Protocol was certified carbon neutral by South Pole in 2021. NEAR's Proof of Stake consensus uses a fraction of the energy required by Proof of Work blockchains like Bitcoin.

Limitations

• Smaller ecosystem than Ethereum: Despite significant growth, NEAR's developer community and DeFi total value locked (TVL) remain smaller than Ethereum's, which benefits from years of head start and network effects.
• Crowded competition: NEAR competes in a Layer-1 market alongside well-funded, established chains including Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, and others with large existing user bases.
• Adoption uncertainty: Like all blockchain infrastructure projects, NEAR's long-term trajectory depends on continued developer adoption and ecosystem growth, neither of which can be guaranteed.

The NEAR Ecosystem

The NEAR ecosystem includes a range of decentralized applications (dApps), decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, gaming platforms, and developer tools built on the NEAR Protocol blockchain. A decentralized application is a software application that runs on a blockchain network rather than on centralized servers, meaning no single company or individual controls it. Two infrastructure components stand out as particularly notable: Aurora, which brings Ethereum compatibility to NEAR, and the Rainbow Bridge, which enables asset transfers between NEAR and Ethereum.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to financial services such as lending, borrowing, trading, and earning yield that operate through smart contracts on a blockchain, without banks or traditional financial intermediaries. Active DeFi protocols on NEAR have historically included Ref Finance, Burrow, and Meta Pool. Verify which protocols are currently active at DeFi Llama NEAR ecosystem data before publication, as protocol status changes. NEAR's low transaction fees make it accessible for DeFi participation where Ethereum's gas costs would price out smaller positions.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets whose ownership is recorded on a blockchain. NEAR's low minting costs give it a practical advantage over Ethereum for NFT creation and trading at scale. NFT marketplaces active on NEAR have historically included Mintbase and Paras; verify current availability at the near.org ecosystem page before citing specific platforms.

Gaming is an active application category on NEAR. The combination of low fees, fast finality, and human-readable accounts makes NEAR technically suited for gaming use cases where frequent microtransactions are common.

Aurora: Ethereum Compatibility on NEAR

Aurora is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain built on NEAR Protocol. It allows developers to deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts on NEAR without modifying their code, giving those applications access to NEAR's fast transaction speeds and near-zero fees while retaining full Ethereum code compatibility.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the computing environment that runs Ethereum smart contracts. Aurora replicates this environment on top of NEAR, so Ethereum code executes natively without translation or rewriting. This matters strategically because Ethereum has the largest smart contract developer community and the most battle-tested DeFi protocols in the industry. Aurora makes all of that accessible on NEAR's infrastructure without requiring Ethereum developers to abandon their existing codebase.

Aurora operates as its own EVM-compatible blockchain running as a smart contract on NEAR. It is not NEAR Protocol itself, and it is not a Layer 2 in the Ethereum sense. Fees on Aurora are paid in ETH, not $NEAR. Developers evaluating Aurora can find current documentation and developer resources at the Aurora official website.

Rainbow Bridge: Connecting NEAR and Ethereum

A cross-chain bridge is a protocol that allows users to transfer digital assets between two different blockchain networks. The Rainbow Bridge is NEAR Protocol's trustless, permissionless cross-chain bridge connecting NEAR and Ethereum. It allows users to transfer assets, including ETH, ERC-20 tokens, and NEAR tokens, between the two networks without relying on a centralized intermediary.

Trustless, in this context, means neither NEAR nor Ethereum needs to trust a central operator to facilitate the transfer. The bridge uses cryptographic proofs to verify that an asset locked on one chain is legitimately available on the other. No company or individual controls the flow of assets through the bridge.

A practical example: a user holding ETH on Ethereum can use the Rainbow Bridge to transfer that ETH to the NEAR network, where it can then be used in NEAR-based DeFi applications at near-zero fees and with approximately one-second transaction times. This interoperability matters in a multi-chain environment where users and protocols increasingly operate across multiple networks.

One practical limitation: transfers from Ethereum to NEAR have a waiting period on the Ethereum side due to Ethereum's block finality requirements. Users evaluating the bridge should factor this delay into their workflow. The Rainbow Bridge interface is publicly accessible for transfers.

NEAR vs. Other Blockchains

NEAR Protocol competes in the Layer-1 blockchain market alongside Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and others. The most useful comparison is not about which chain is better, but about which design trade-offs each one makes for different priorities.

Data as of 2025. Verify current figures at official protocol documentation before relying on them for any decision. TPS figures for all chains reflect theoretical or benchmark conditions; real-world throughput varies.

NEAR and Ethereum are not direct substitutes. NEAR prioritizes throughput, low fees, and developer accessibility through sharding; Ethereum prioritizes decentralization and security through its larger, more battle-tested validator set, and it maintains dominant DeFi liquidity with significantly higher total value locked across its ecosystem. Many developers and projects operate on both chains, and Aurora specifically exists to bridge the gap. Solana pursues similar throughput goals through a different architectural approach, using Proof of History rather than sharding. Polkadot takes yet another direction with its parachain architecture, enabling cross-chain communication between independent blockchains rather than sharding within a single unified network.

How to Buy and Stake NEAR

Buying $NEAR follows the same process as purchasing any major cryptocurrency on a centralized exchange.

How to Buy NEAR

1. Choose a cryptocurrency exchange that lists NEAR. Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have historically listed NEAR. Verify that the exchange you choose currently supports NEAR trading in your region before proceeding.
2. Create an account and complete identity verification. Most exchanges require KYC (Know Your Customer) identity verification before allowing purchases.
3. Deposit funds. Most exchanges accept bank transfers, debit or credit cards, and crypto deposits. Fees and processing times vary by method.
4. Search for NEAR and place a purchase order. You can buy at the current market price or set a limit order at a price of your choice.
5. Consider moving $NEAR to a self-custody wallet. For long-term holding, transferring $NEAR to a wallet you control, such as NEAR Wallet at wallet.near.org or a compatible hardware wallet, reduces exchange counterparty risk.

How to Stake NEAR

Staking $NEAR is the process of locking up tokens to support network security in exchange for earning rewards. It is distinct from DeFi yield farming, which involves providing liquidity to decentralized protocols.

Option A: Delegation (recommended for most users): Connect your NEAR wallet, navigate to the staking section, select a validator from the active list, and delegate your $NEAR. Staking rewards accrue automatically. No minimum stake and no technical expertise are required for delegation.

Option B: Run a validator node (advanced): This option requires dedicated server hardware, technical expertise, and a minimum stake. Verify the current minimum stake requirement at NEAR validator documentation before considering this path. It is suited only for technically experienced participants.

Staking yields on NEAR have historically ranged from approximately 8 to 11 percent APY, but yields are variable and depend on network conditions. Verify current rates at near.org/validators.

This section is for informational purposes only. Purchasing or staking $NEAR involves financial risk. This is not financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Is NEAR Protocol Worth Paying Attention To?

Whether $NEAR suits your investment portfolio depends entirely on your personal financial situation, risk tolerance, and investment goals. This article does not constitute financial advice. What follows is a factual summary of the fundamentals that investors typically evaluate.

• Technical architecture: NEAR's Nightshade sharding is a genuine technical differentiator with a documented scalability roadmap extending to Stateless Validation.
• Ecosystem activity: The NEAR ecosystem includes active DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and developer tooling. Monitor current TVL figures at DeFi Llama NEAR ecosystem data for an up-to-date picture of ecosystem health.
• Tokenomics: $NEAR has an inflationary supply model with a deflationary burn counterbalance. Staking provides yield for long-term holders, subject to the variability noted in the tokenomics section.
• Competition: NEAR competes with well-capitalized, established Layer-1 networks. Ecosystem adoption relative to competitors is a meaningful risk factor that any evaluation should include.
• Development funding: The NEAR Foundation continues to fund protocol development and ecosystem grants, including work on the Stateless Validation roadmap.

This article does not provide price predictions for $NEAR or any cryptocurrency. For analysis-based forecasting, consult independent financial research sources and treat all price predictions as speculative, not reliable.

Investing in cryptocurrency carries significant risk. Asset values can decline substantially and rapidly. Regulatory environments are evolving. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including the potential loss of your entire investment. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions About NEAR Protocol

What is NEAR Protocol used for?

NEAR Protocol is used to build and run decentralized applications (dApps), including decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, gaming applications, and social platforms. Developers write smart contracts in Rust or JavaScript to deploy applications on NEAR, and users interact with those applications using $NEAR tokens to pay transaction fees. NEAR also serves as infrastructure for Web3 applications that require fast transaction finality and low costs.

How does NEAR Protocol work?

NEAR Protocol works by combining Proof of Stake consensus with Nightshade, a proprietary sharding system. Validators stake $NEAR tokens to participate in block production, while Nightshade divides the network into parallel processing segments called shards that each handle a portion of transactions simultaneously. This architecture delivers approximately one to two second transaction finality and fees under $0.001 per transaction.

What is the $NEAR token?

The $NEAR token is the native cryptocurrency of NEAR Protocol, sometimes called "NEAR coin" colloquially, though it is technically a token. It serves four functions: paying gas fees on the network, staking to secure the network and earn rewards, voting on protocol governance decisions, and covering on-chain data storage costs through storage staking. Every transaction on NEAR requires a small $NEAR payment.

Who created NEAR Protocol?

NEAR Protocol was co-founded in 2018 by Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov. Polosukhin is a former Google engineer and co-author of the 2017 AI research paper "Attention Is All You Need," which introduced the Transformer architecture behind modern AI systems. Skidanov is a former Microsoft and MemSQL engineer specializing in distributed systems. The NEAR Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, was established to oversee protocol development and ecosystem growth. The mainnet launched in October 2020.

What is sharding in NEAR?

Sharding in NEAR refers to Nightshade, NEAR's proprietary system that divides the blockchain into parallel processing segments called shards. Each shard processes a portion of network transactions simultaneously, and each shard produces a "chunk" of the block rather than a complete block. All chunks combine into a single final block, allowing throughput to scale as new shards are added without sacrificing decentralization or security.

What is Aurora on NEAR?

Aurora is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain built on NEAR Protocol. It allows developers to deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts on NEAR without modifying their code, giving those applications access to NEAR's fast speeds and near-zero fees. Aurora is not NEAR Protocol itself and is not a Layer 2 in the Ethereum sense. Gas fees on Aurora are paid in ETH. Find developer resources at aurora.dev.

What is the Rainbow Bridge?

The Rainbow Bridge is NEAR Protocol's trustless, permissionless cross-chain bridge connecting NEAR and Ethereum. It allows users to transfer assets, including ETH, ERC-20 tokens, and NEAR tokens, between the two networks without relying on a centralized intermediary. The bridge uses cryptographic proofs to verify transfers, so neither network needs to trust a central operator. Transfers from Ethereum to NEAR have a waiting period due to Ethereum's block finality requirements.

How is NEAR different from Ethereum?

NEAR and Ethereum make different architectural choices for different priorities. NEAR prioritizes transaction throughput, low fees, and developer accessibility through Nightshade sharding; Ethereum prioritizes decentralization and security through a larger, more battle-tested validator set and maintains dominant DeFi liquidity with significantly higher total value locked. NEAR supports JavaScript for smart contract development; Ethereum uses Solidity. Many developers build on both networks, and Aurora exists specifically to allow Ethereum code to run on NEAR.

Is NEAR Protocol proof of stake?

Yes, NEAR Protocol uses Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus. Validators stake $NEAR tokens to earn the right to validate transactions and produce new blocks, earning staking rewards in return. Dishonest behavior risks slashing, meaning loss of staked tokens. This differs from Bitcoin's Proof of Work model, which uses energy-intensive computation to secure the network. NEAR's Proof of Stake approach is the basis for its carbon neutral certification.

Is NEAR Protocol a good investment?

Whether $NEAR suits your portfolio depends on your personal financial situation, risk tolerance, and investment goals. This article does not constitute financial advice and does not provide price predictions. The relevant fundamentals investors typically evaluate include NEAR's Nightshade sharding architecture, ecosystem activity, tokenomics model (inflationary supply with deflationary burn), and competitive positioning in the Layer-1 market. All cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including potential total loss. Conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Is NEAR Protocol carbon neutral?

Yes. NEAR Protocol was certified carbon neutral by South Pole, a leading global climate solutions provider, in 2021. NEAR's Proof of Stake consensus mechanism consumes a fraction of the energy required by Proof of Work blockchains like Bitcoin, making this certification achievable in a way that energy-intensive networks cannot match.

What does NEAR stand for?

NEAR is not an acronym. The name reflects the founding vision of making blockchain technology as accessible and near to everyday users as the modern internet.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including the potential loss of your entire investment. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. All dynamic data including token prices, market capitalization, staking yields, validator counts, and TVL figures change continuously. Verify current figures at the sources cited throughout this article before relying on them for any purpose.