In a transformative fourth-quarter performance, NEAR Protocol, a trailblazing Blockchain Operating System, ushered in a period of vigorous growth, reflecting the dynamic evolution of the blockchain sector. Its native token, NEAR, shone brightly with an impressive 16% year-to-date escalation, signaling a strong tide of adoption by the user community.
Amidst a buzzing crypto market landscape, where the overall market capitalization swelled, spurred on by the buzz over potential spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, NEAR Protocol carved out a niche for itself. Its circulating market capitalization skyrocketed to $3.7 billion by the end of 2023, posting a staggering 245% increase quarter-on-quarter, and paralleling a 246% surge year-on-year.
As the crypto space stood captivated by soaring figures, NEAR steered the helm with a fully diluted market cap that peaked at $4.3 billion. The protocol emerged as a heavyweight contender in the market cap rankings, vaulting 10 positions to nestle approximately at the 30th spot as the year drew to a close.
The last quarter further marked NEAR’s momentous financial growth, as revenues, primarily accumulated through network transaction fees, touched the $750,000 mark. This financial upswing can be attributed to the energized activity sparked by avant-garde projects like KAIKAINOW and NEAR Inscriptions.
Apart from surges in revenue, NEAR’s model of transaction fee management, where 70% is incinerated and 30% funnels back to the originating contract, has streamlined its fiscal dynamics.
NEAR’s fourth quarter not only glittered with financial milestones but also showcased an exponential expansion in its user base. With average daily active addresses climbing by a spectacular 1,250% year-over-year to 870,000 and fresh daily addresses onboarding at a rate representing a 550% yearly increase, the protocol’s outreach was undeniable.
Messari’s report underscored the growth impetus provided by successful launches and the uptake of initiatives like KAIKAINOW, Sweat Economy, Aurora, and Playember. In comparison to other blockchain networks, NEAR’s daily active addresses outperformed significantly, trumping networks like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon PoS.
The NEAR Inscriptions phenomenon catalyzed the network, culminating in a record high of 14 million transactions in December alone, while the fees remained impressively low.
In the domain of Total Value Locked (TVL), NEAR demonstrated robust health, with a TVL reach of $128 million, securing a 147% gain from the previous quarter and claiming around the 25th position in the blockchain ecosystem. Nearly half of this TVL emanated from NEAR itself, with the remainder buoyed by a variety of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Strategic partnerships forged with Chainlink and SushiSwap infused the protocol with incremental value. The affiliation with Chainlink’s robust decentralized oracle network enriched NEAR with precious real-world data and API interactions, expanding the horizons for NEAR-based applications. SushiSwap’s collaboration unlocked a plethora of token swaps, liquidity pools, and yield farming vistas for NEAR users.
Gazing forward, NEAR Protocol aims to revamp its technological blueprint, woo a greater developer populace, and entice preeminent protocols as it strides into 2024, a vision underscored by Messari’s insights. This promises to further solidify NEAR’s position at the vanguard of blockchain innovation.
