NEAR Protocol Token Issuance Reduction Approved by House of Stake to 1.6%

NEAR Protocol’s House of Stake governance body approved proposal HSP-029 on November 2, 2026, lowering the network’s maximum annual token issuance ceiling from 2.5% to 1.6%. The ballot closed at approximately 16:48 UTC with overwhelming support.

The change reduces maximum annual issuance by roughly 36% and will phase in over 24 months through a smooth per-epoch linear ramp of about 0.0375 percentage points each month. The existing 90/10 split of new issuance between stakers and the protocol treasury stays unchanged.

Vote Results and Governance Process

Support reached 99.96–99.97% with roughly 3.29 million veNEAR cast in favor. Abstentions totaled about 1,071 veNEAR while opposition remained negligible. Turnout stood near 62% of eligible voting power, meeting the required supermajority threshold.

Proposal author Sal Ternullo, CEO of SVRN, designed the measure as a single-parameter adjustment without introducing new mechanisms, spending programs, or oracles. The vote followed standard House of Stake procedures and required only the existing security council review for final ratification.

House of Stake Security Council review remains pending with a noted veto window extending until approximately November 16. Service providers receive a 90-day grace period after ratification to update disclosures before the ramp can activate.

Background and Modeled Impacts

This marks NEAR’s second issuance reduction. The prior cut from 5% to 2.5% took effect in late October 2025. The current measure follows a similar adjustment implemented by Solana in August 2026 and aims to slow dilution as the network’s early bootstrapping phase concludes.

Based on a September 22, 2026 snapshot showing 42.71% of tokens staked, a total supply of approximately 1.307 billion NEAR, and a price near $4.30, daily issuance would fall from about 89,500 to 57,300 NEAR once the target rate is reached. The adjustment avoids issuance of roughly 11.8 million NEAR over two years and 66.1 million NEAR over six years, leaving supply 4.36% smaller than the baseline path.

Gross staking yield would decline from approximately 5.268% to 3.372% under the modeled conditions. Validators must still voluntarily adopt a separate protocol upgrade before the ramp activates, and quarterly reports will track realized issuance against the published schedule.

Implementation Timeline and Next Steps

As of November 9, 2026, no immediate change applies to the current 2.5% ceiling. The Security Council must complete its review and any ratification before the 24-month ramp can begin.

Market participants should monitor for the protocol upgrade announcement and subsequent validator adoption. Once activated, the linear schedule will deliver predictable monthly reductions until the 1.6% target is achieved at month 24.