Near Protocol faces pivotal vote to slash token inflation by half

NEAR Protocol is facing a critical vote on a proposal by HOT Protocol to reduce its token inflation rate from 5% to 2.5% annually. The plan aims to enhance NEAR’s long-term sustainability, boost its store of value potential, and improve DeFi competitiveness by cutting staking yields from 9% to 4.5%. The current high inflation rate, adding over 60 million NEAR yearly, outpaces network growth due to low transaction fee burns (0.1% of supply). Supported by NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin and Electric Capital’s Avichal Garg, the proposal seeks to shift focus from staking yields to demand-generating features like transaction fee revenue. The vote requires a two-thirds majority, with 13.36% secured so far, and implementation is targeted for Q3 2025 if approved. Show Less