NEAR’s House of Stake, the network’s decentralized onchain governance body, has voted to lower NEAR’s maximum annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6%, phased in over 24 months. The proposal, HSP-029, sets a 24-month ramp to a 1.6% target rate for NEAR token emissions, which NEAR Protocol says delivers lower long-term issuance and “a supply schedule anyone can verify.”
NEAR Protocol announced the result on X as an example of its economics evolving transparently and programmatically, with token holders putting a core parameter to a public vote and the new rate rolling out epoch by epoch on a published schedule. The change is not yet in force, since it still needs Security Council review, ratification and a validator upgrade before issuance begins stepping down.
NEAR Issuance Cut Awaits Validator Upgrade
The House of Stake Security Council reviews the result before ratification, and a grace period of roughly 90 days follows. Validators then adopt the change through a protocol upgrade, which makes it binding on the network. Token issuance steps down every epoch from that point and reaches 1.6% at month 24, while quarterly reports track realized issuance against the published schedule.
Lower issuance also shrinks the rewards that stakers and validators earn, a trade-off visible in Solana’s own supply debate. Solana validators approved SIMD-0550 in August, doubling the annual disinflation rate from 15% to 30% and bringing inflation to its 1.5% floor in about 2.8 years instead of 5.7. Modeling from Helius, the proposal’s author, projects nominal staking yields falling from roughly 5.84% to about 4.34% after one year and 3% after two, with two of 738 analyzed validators turning unprofitable in year one, rising to 13 in year two and 30 in year three.
Investor Takeaway
The cut takes effect only after Security Council review, ratification, a roughly 90-day grace period and a validator protocol upgrade, after which issuance steps down every epoch to reach 1.6% at month 24, while Solana’s approved SIMD-0550 shows lower issuance also trims staking yields and validator margins, according to Helius modeling.
Issuance Cut Joins Buybacks and ETF Access
Separately from issuance, the blockchain has tied network revenue to token purchases through an automatic revenue-sharing fee switch for NEAR Intents that directs protocol revenue toward NEAR buybacks, while its 2026 roadmap centers on scaling the Intents cross-chain layer and advancing its confidential computing stack. Traditional market access has widened as well, with NEAR rallying as a Bitwise ETF cleared a major hurdle on September 28 and the first US spot ETF providing direct exposure to NEAR going live on September 29.
The fund lets investors gain exposure to NEAR’s price through a conventional brokerage account without buying the token, managing private keys or interacting with the blockchain. As a spot product, it holds the underlying cryptocurrency, and its shares broadly track the value of those holdings after fees and other expenses. NEAR remains considerably smaller than Bitcoin and Ether, which makes the launch a test of investor appetite for crypto assets outside the largest categories.
ETF shareholders still face NEAR’s price swings and cannot transfer tokens onchain, use decentralized applications or potentially stake directly the way token holders can.
Investor Takeaway
The issuance cut arrives alongside Intents-funded NEAR buybacks and a US spot NEAR ETF, which broaden how network revenue and traditional investors connect to the token.
Price Performance
NEAR has failed to respond positively to the news, with its price declining 4.85% over the past 24 hours. However, the chart presents a possibility of a short-term recovery, as the asset has recently entered a level identified as “Demand Zone 2.” This zone could attract buyers and provide the support needed for a rebound in the coming sessions.
The Accumulation/Distribution indicator also points to a gradual increase in market accumulation, with its volume-weighted reading reaching 299 million at press time. If this reading continues to rise, it could indicate growing buying pressure and provide further support for a price recovery. However, accumulation remains relatively weak at present, suggesting that buyers have yet to establish enough momentum to support a sustained rally.