How to Buy NEAR Protocol Token the Right Way

Wondering how to buy NEAR protocol tokens and which platform gives you the smartest, safest experience?

This guide walks you every step of the way, from picking the right platform to securing your tokens  (with MC² Finance). Whether you’re new to crypto or optimizing a multi-chain smart portfolio, you’ll be able to buy, verify, and self-custody in a jiffy (just with intent and a bit of account abstraction).

How do I get NEAR token?

You can acquire NEAR protocol tokens by:

Step 1: Choose a platform to buy NEAR protocol token

Head on over to the MC² Finance App to easily buy NEAR protocol tokens. It’s fast, secure, and doesn’t require a login to explore token details. Best part, it shows real-time token authenticity scores powered by 32+ on-chain and off-chain data points — something no other exchange or aggregator offers.

How can I buy NEAR protocol token?

Just follow these steps:

1. Go to app.mc2.fi
2. Click the search bar at the top
3. Type “NEAR” or “Near Protocol”
4. You’ll see “NEAR Protocol (NEAR)” token in the results
5. Click the cart icon next to it to add it to your order

Once selected, you’ll see NEAR protocol token’s live scorecard (i.e., a breakdown of its on-chain health). This includes critical indicators like whale dominance, scam clone detection, contract risk level, and real-time social momentum. These signals are specifically designed to help you avoid traps and trade with confidence.

Step 2: Buy the NEAR protocol token

Once the NEAR protocol token is in your cart, you’ll have flexible funding options that work for beginners and pros alike.

After opening your cart:

• ✅ You can fund with crypto already in your wallet (e.g., USDT, ETH, BNB, TWT, Velas, HBAR)
• 💳 Or use Aarc, an integrated payment option, to buy with debit or credit card (even without ssn) instantly

Here’s where it goes next level: right before you confirm the purchase, MC² Finance reveals granular, time-sensitive metrics about NEAR’s market behavior. You’ll see how deep the liquidity pool is, which way the buy/sell pressure is leaning, and even how whale wallets are moving. Traditional exchanges give you charts — MC² Finance gives you context. That’s how you avoid blind trades and act like an insider, even if you’re just starting out.

💡 Pro tip: MC² Finance auto-routes your purchase via the best liquidity path (like Uniswap, PancakeSwap, or 1inch), giving you the best execution — with no guesswork.

Step 3: Verify and secure your NEAR protocol tokens

After completing your purchase, click “Check Transaction On Chain.” You’ll instantly see:

✅ Contract address

✅ Tokens received

✅ Timestamp and confirmation

✅ Chain used

Your NEAR protocol tokens will appear in your connected wallet right away.

To store them securely:

1. Use NEAR Wallet (the official wallet) for native staking and full features
2. You can also use Trust Wallet or Ledger with NEAR support
3. For long-term security, consider a hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor

MC² Finance strongly recommends self-custody, meaning you own your keys, not the exchange.

👆 Here’s a video on how to withdraw your NEAR protocol tokens.

Final checklist before you buy NEAR protocol tokens

🔲 Use MC² Finance to verify the NEAR protocol token’s authenticity score before buying

🔲 Double-check you’re purchasing the correct NEAR protocol token (watch for fakes)

🔲 Store your recovery phrase offline, never in cloud apps

🔲 Keep some NEAR protocol token in your wallet for transaction or staking fees

🔲 Track your NEAR protocol token’s performance using MC² Portfolio Tracker, which updates token scores, whale moves, and hype level in real-time

Frequently asked questions

Does NEAR protocol tokens have a max supply?

NEAR Protocol doesn’t have a hard cap like Bitcoin’s 21 million tokens. Instead, it operates on a dynamic supply model, meaning the total number of tokens can keep increasing, but at a controlled and predictable rate. As of April 2025, NEAR Protocol has a total supply of approximately 1.245 billion NEAR tokens, meaning it issues around 50 million new NEAR protocol tokens per year at a fixed inflation rate of 5%.

Think of it like earning interest on a savings account (i.e., if you had 1,000 tokens, you'd get 50 more in a year).

Of this 5%, 90% (equating to 4.5% of the total supply) is distributed to validators as rewards for their role in securing the network and processing transactions. The remaining 10% (0.5% of the total supply) is directed to the protocol treasury to support ongoing development and ecosystem growth.

But here’s where it gets interesting: NEAR also burns about 70% of all transaction fees. So every time someone uses the network (like sending tokens or using a dApp), a portion of the fee they pay just disappears (i.e., it’s permanently removed from circulation). Imagine if every time you paid a $1 fee, 70 cents got burned. Now, if more and more people start using NEAR, more fees get burned. That burning can cancel out the 5% inflation, and in very active periods, even outpace it.

In those high-usage scenarios, NEAR can become deflationary, which means the total supply would actually decrease over time, making existing tokens more scarce and potentially more valuable. So while there’s no fixed maximum supply, NEAR is designed to grow in a sustainable way (and even shrink if the network gets busy enough).

What can a NEAR protocol token be used for?

NEAR protocol token is the fuel behind the entire NEAR Protocol ecosystem. At its core, these tokens may appear to only be used to pay for transaction fees and smart contract execution (i.e., every time you send tokens, interact with a dApp, or trigger an on-chain action, you pay a small amount of NEAR protocol tokens as a fee, just like ETH on Ethereum).

But it goes further: NEAR holders can stake their tokens to help secure the network by delegating their NEAR to validators who process transactions and maintain the blockchain, and earn passive rewards in return (you get a share of the rewards validators earn — kind of like earning interest — without needing to run a node yourself). This staking is what keeps the network running efficiently and safely because the more NEAR protocol tokens are staked, the harder it is for bad actors to gain control and attack the network.

Developers also use NEAR to deploy apps on-chain by paying fees in the form of NEAR protocol tokens to upload and run their smart contracts, and users need it to interact with those apps (i.e., any time you use a feature — like minting an NFT, sending a token, or placing a trade — you’re paying with NEAR). On top of that, NEAR is central to governance. By locking up NEAR protocol tokens in governance proposals (ranging from three months to four years), holders gain voting rights to approve or reject upgrades, funding decisions, or community-driven changes.

How do I sell NEAR protocol token?

On MC² Finance, the selling “NEAR protocol tokens” process starts by simply heading to the site and typing “USDT” in the search bar. When you see “USDT” listed, click into its profile to access the live scorecard.

Once you’re ready to sell, swap your NEAR protocol tokens with USDT (or others like ETH, TWT, Velas, or HBAR). The platform will automatically route your order through the best possible path using top DEXs like Uniswap or PancakeSwap, so you get the best execution without needing to compare rates manually.

After the transaction goes through, you can verify it instantly with the “Check Transaction On Chain” feature. You’ll see the amount sold, what you received, the timestamp, and the exact chain used. This final step gives you peace of mind and a permanent on-chain record of the sale. For those selling significant amounts, consider using MC² Finance’s live market insights before hitting confirm (this way, you’re not just selling fast, you’re selling smart).

Is NEAR protocol token an AI crypto?

NEAR protocol token isn’t marketed as a pure “AI crypto,” but it’s quickly becoming one of the most AI-friendly blockchains in the space. While some tokens simply use AI as a buzzword, NEAR takes a more foundational approach by building infrastructure that actually supports AI-driven applications. Its protocol is highly scalable, fast, and cheap to use, which are all must-haves for any real-time AI use case.

What’s even more compelling is that NEAR is the home of several AI-native projects, like NearGPT, which use on-chain logic to support AI-generated interactions and dynamic smart contracts. Developers can build decentralized AI models on NEAR using tools like WASM and Rust, and the network’s architecture is optimized for machine learning workflows that require speed and low latency.

So while NEAR isn’t an “AI token” in the meme sense, it’s quietly becoming a real layer-one foundation for AI innovation (without needing to shout about it).

Is NEAR protocol a Layer 1?

Yes, NEAR Protocol is a true Layer 1 blockchain, meaning it operates independently with its own consensus mechanism, validator network, and native token (NEAR). Unlike Layer 2s, which rely on another blockchain for security or settlement, NEAR secures and processes its own transactions using a novel consensus model called Nightshade. This sharded architecture splits the network into multiple pieces (called shards), allowing it to process thousands of transactions per second with minimal fees.

What sets NEAR apart from other Layer 1s is its focus on developer usability and scalability from day one. Its built-in account abstraction, human-readable wallet addresses, and parallel processing make it one of the most technically elegant L1s on the market. For developers and users alike, it offers a smoother, more scalable experience without sacrificing decentralization.

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