NEAR Protocol Slashes Inflation Rate by 50% Despite Community Vote Falling Short

NEAR makes bold monetary policy move while governance process hits unexpected snag.

The Deflationary Gambit

NEAR Protocol just executed a massive 50% reduction in its inflation rate—cutting the supply expansion in half despite the community governance vote failing to reach the required approval threshold. The network pushed through what many are calling 'monetary policy with conviction' while traditional finance experts scratch their heads about decentralized governance protocols.

Governance Gap or Strategic Move?

The inflation halving represents one of the most significant monetary policy shifts in recent blockchain history, yet it occurred without the typical full community endorsement. Some see this as protocol leadership taking decisive action; others question the governance mechanics when key decisions bypass popular approval.

Tokenomics in the Hot Seat

While the inflation cut theoretically boosts token scarcity and potential value, the governance question leaves investors wondering—are we watching innovative leadership or witnessing the kind of centralization that makes traditional finance guys chuckle into their morning coffee? Either way, NEAR just proved blockchain economics remains the wild west of digital finance.

NEAR Protocol inflation cut sparks debate over governance

The inflation reduction decision has stirred controversy because an earlier community vote on the same proposal failed to pass. The August 1 on-chain poll saw 89 validators—representing 45.06% of total votes—supporting the inflation reduction, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for formal approval. Nevertheless, the NEAR Core development team proceeded to include the change in the network upgrade.

Responding to concerns, NEAR Protocol Chief Technology Officer Bowen Wang told The Defiant that the adjustment still depends on validator approval at the consensus layer.

“The upgrade requires a supermajority of 80% of the stake of block-producing validators to adopt it and will not be implemented unless that threshold is reached,” Wang stated. He added this process has governed all major network upgrades since NEAR’s mainnet launch.