Near has surfed nearly every major crypto narrative: sharding, chain abstraction, intents, and now AI agents. Co-founded by Transformer paper co-author Illia Polosukhin, the blockchain has processed over $20 billion in cross-chain transactions and generated more than $34 million in fees. What many don't know: Near was born out of payroll trouble.
From Payroll Nightmare to Public Chain
In 2017, Polosukhin and distributed systems expert Alexander Skidanov ran an AI startup focused on program synthesis—teaching machines to code. They hired remote developers worldwide but struggled to pay them. PayPal and Wise had severe restrictions in Eastern Europe and Asia; early blockchains charged high gas fees and settled slowly. So the founders paused AI development and built a scalable, low-cost chain. Near mainnet launched in 2018.
The pivot wasn't smooth. Near raised over $500 million for sharding tech but lacked killer dApps and user growth, falling into relative obscurity during the "Ethereum killer" wars. In March 2024, at Nvidia's GTC, Jensen Huang invited Polosukhin and six other Transformer authors on stage, calling the paper "transformative." This spotlight revived Near's "AI bloodline" narrative. Since then, Near has pivoted toward intents and private transactions, laying groundwork for agent economies.
Near Intents Surpasses $20B in Volume, $33M in Fees
Near Intents abstracts cross-chain complexity: users state goals like "swap BTC on source chain for ETH on target chain," while off-chain solver networks bid to find the best route. Gas is deducted invisibly. DeFi Llama data shows Near Intents deployed across 25 chains, with TVL exceeding $85 million—$36.5 million on Near and the rest spread via chain abstraction to Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tron, and others. Cumulative volume has surpassed $20 billion, generating over $33 million in fees. Over 70% of that revenue came in the last two quarters. Most fees are burned, creating deflationary pressure for NEAR tokens. However, reliance on a few dominant solvers for liquidity optimization may lead to oligopoly, weakening price competition.
Private Swaps Capture 41% of Traffic – Growth Engine or Regulatory Risk?
In Q1 2026, Near launched "Confidential Intents" and "Confidential Swaps." In the past 30 days, Near processed $209 million in total volume, of which $87 million (41.63%) were private swaps. The feature solves a structural DeFi pain: transparent ledgers expose whale positions to MEV attacks and slippage. Confidential mode hides swap amounts and directions during execution, verified only on settlement. Bots lose their edge, and institutions gain a safer DeFi corridor. Yet the flip side: a 41% privacy share invites regulatory scrutiny. If regulators classify the feature as a money-laundering risk, Near could face significant uncertainty.
Near's nine-year journey—from AI startup to sharding chain to intent-based privacy hub—shows constant adaptation. Whether these moves build a lasting moat remains to be seen.