Near Protocol’s Make-or-Break Vote: Slashing Token Inflation by 50%

Near Protocol stands at a crossroads—its community prepares to vote on a game-changing proposal that could halve token inflation overnight.

Why it matters: With inflation running hot (even in crypto), this vote could either cement NEAR's deflationary credibility or leave it chasing ghost chains in the Layer-1 race.

The mechanics: Validators and delegators will decide whether to cut the current issuance rate—a move that could squeeze short-term rewards but boost long-term tokenomics. No pressure, folks.

Between the lines: Some see this as a desperate bid to mimic Ethereum's post-merge success, while others call it shrewd supply management. Either way, Wall Street would kill for this kind of monetary policy flexibility.

Bottom line: In a world where most projects inflate their way to irrelevance, Near's playing with fire—the good kind that burns weak hands and forges stronger networks.

Community support

The proposal has drawn strong backing from the NEAR ecosystem, with many industry players expressing support.

Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, endorsed the plan, saying it better positions NEAR as a potential store of value in emerging AI-focused environments.

He also highlighted the need to reduce the reliance on staking as the primary source of yield, a dynamic that has limited DeFi innovation on NEAR so far.

Avichal Garg, the co-founder of Electric Capital, echoed similar views, while adding:

“[I am a] big fan of this for the NEAR ecosystem. The future of crypto [is] lower emissions, fee switches to drive revenue to tokenholders, and [rewarding] long-term holders via more revenue.”

Meanwhile, the proposal is currently undergoing a validator vote and requires a two-thirds majority to pass. As of press time, 13.36% of the required 66.67% threshold has been secured.

If approved, implementation is expected by Q3 2025, pending a smooth technical rollout and final community validation.