NEAR Protocol has witnessed an explosive growth in development over the past year. Designed to be scalable, secure, and climate-neutral, the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain recently reached the creation of 10 million wallets on its network after it introduced ‘Nightshade Sharding’ at the end of 2021. When you also consider NEAR’s $350 million financing round led by Tiger Global Management, on top of the launch of its Balkan and Kenyan Regional Hub this spring, all signs point towards NEAR Protocol positioning itself as a strong candidate among the top Web3 competitors in the space.
Of course, the success of a Layer 1 blockchain depends entirely on the overall adoption of the network. High-performance sharding and lightning-fast transactions are only able to go so far unless there are exciting projects out there that drive demand to the network. The good news here is that NEAR Protocol is no stranger to killer (d)apps. When you count for Aurora, there are currently more than 600 projects building on the NEAR ecosystem!
With that said, here is your guide to the 5 most original projects currently available on NEAR:
Image source: CoinGape.com
Project I — MoonPay
Launched in 2019 by co-founders Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, MoonPay acts as a direct gateway for cryptocurrency adoption. The platform exists as a Web3 version of PayPal, and allows users all over the world to seamlessly onboard and interact with digital assets via their bank account, credit and debit card, along with Apple / Google Pay.
A few weeks after the start-up managed to raise $555 million in a Series A fundraising round, MoonPay added support for NEAR in December of last year. The project shows significant commitment to the long-term expansion of the NEAR ecosystem, and you can use it today to transact with NEAR here.
Image source: sweatco.in/
Project II — Sweatcoin
The past few months have seen Sweatcoin’s meteoric rise. The London-based tech company added over 7 million new users to its platform in early May of this year, taking its total users above 76 million worldwide (according to Blockchain News). The mobile app also saw a total worth of $71 million value exchanged on the in-app marketplace in Q1 2022 alone.
Sweatcoin is a ‘move-to-earn’ mobile app that rewards users for the number of steps they take on a daily basis. This allows them to mine Sweat, Sweatcoin’s native token which is set to release this summer. Given its unique selling point, the project definitely belongs in the top five original projects currently available on NEAR, and you can download it on the App Store here.
Image source: seatlabnft.com/
Project III — Seatlab
Seatlab is here to solve some of the entertainment industry’s largest problems when it comes to ticketing. Via the creation of a marketplace powered by non-fungible tokens (NFTs), artists and event organisers are given the opportunity to use blockchain technology to prevent counterfeiting. Moreover, issuers of these ticket NFTs can customise their own royalty splits and attach their own conditions to the sale of each ticket — reducing the impact of scalping while promoting the use of self-custody solutions.
Built on top of the NEAR blockchain, Seatlab uses ultra-low transaction speeds to create the ideal fraud-preventing NFT ticketing marketplace. It also offers features outside of NFT tickets, such as audible and visual collectible NFTs. So, If you’re an artist or an event organiser, make sure to keep this unique project on your radar!
Seatlab NFT: Twitter | Website
Image source: near.org/
Project IV — Paras
Paras is a NFT marketplace that takes a more curated approach to the content released on its platform, something that sets it apart from traditional NFT marketplaces where there are virtually no barriers to entry (allowing anyone to duplicate an existing collection or upload a derivative project). On Paras artists have to apply for a limited space in order to create NFTs and must conform to a standardised aspect ratio, enabling the project to have consistent quality output across the board.
As per their website, Paras allows artists and art-collectors to convene in dedicated spaces to ‘tell their stories and connect with their communities.’ And there are many additional things that set Paras apart from your traditional NFT Marketplace, for example, the platform has its own digital comics publication. Be sure to check them out if you’re interested in trying out NFTs on NEAR. The future of the digital gallery has never seemed so promising!
Image source: 3xr.space/
Project V — DAOrecords
Founded in early 2020, DAOrecords is a music label powered by the NEAR ecosystem. The platform hosts an array of virtual events and distributes music in the form of audio NFTs, aiming to reinvent the record label and decentralise the music industry.
Their website claims to see ‘the future of the music industry as a place where artists have control over not only their music, but the relationship with their fans and community within their own economy that will interconnect with the tools being developed.’ Some of these tools include providing hosting facilities for live events and automated royalty sharing options. The project stands out due to its development progress. And you can currently enter the metaverse to check their collection of music records on NEAR here.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to explore in the constantly expanding NEAR ecosystem, with countless unique concepts being built on NEAR and Aurora at this very moment. It can get overwhelming at times, and hopefully this article helps give you a better idea of some of the innovative projects that are out there. All of the projects covered in this article are ready for use today, and we recommend you give them a try if they catch your interest. You never know, you might end up liking what you find!
Article written by: Johan Ruis(@achildhoodhero)
About NEAR
NEAR is a sharded, proof-of-stake, layer one blockchain that is built for usability and scalability. NEAR combines the power of both PoS and sharding in a technology called Nightshade, making the chain infinitely scalable without compromising security and decentralization.
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