NEAR Protocol entered the second quarter of 2026 with its core blockchain infrastructure largely established. According to the project's latest Q2 update, the focus has shifted from building network capabilities to demonstrating measurable adoption through increased transaction activity, privacy-focused features, and expanded cross-chain functionality.

NEAR Records 854K Daily Transactions During Q2 2026

According to NEAR Protocol's Q2 2026 update, the network averaged approximately 854,000 daily transactions and 121,000 daily active addresses during the quarter. These figures suggest stable user engagement as the ecosystem continues to expand its decentralized finance and payments infrastructure. The transaction volumes place NEAR among actively used Layer-1 networks, though still below the multi-million daily transaction levels reported by chains such as Solana during the same period.

The report highlighted several ecosystem contributors that supported network activity. HOT Wallet led transaction volume, while Ref Finance remained a major decentralized finance platform on the network. Tether (USDT) processed more than 1 million transactions, reflecting continued stablecoin usage across the blockchain.

Dynamic Resharding and SPICE Target Faster Network Performance

NEAR reported that its scaling roadmap advanced through dynamic resharding, a feature that automatically splits congested shards and merges underutilized ones based on network demand. Unlike traditional scaling models that require governance decisions or manual coordination, the system adjusts resources automatically as activity changes. Sharding has been central to NEAR's architecture since mainnet launch in 2020, and the move to dynamic resharding represents an effort to make that scaling fully adaptive without operator intervention.

The protocol also outlined its next major infrastructure upgrade, SPICE, which separates consensus from execution. The architecture targets 200-millisecond block times, sub-second transaction finality, and parallel execution. These improvements are designed to support high-frequency workloads, including AI agents that require continuous on-chain settlement. On-chain AI agent activity has emerged as a growing category across multiple blockchain networks, with NEAR positioning its infrastructure to capture settlement demand from automated, programmatic applications.

Confidential Intents TVL Surpasses $30 Million in Q2

Privacy infrastructure was another major focus during the quarter. NEAR's Confidential Intents system conceals transaction size, timing, asset pairs, and transfer direction while still allowing selective disclosure when necessary. The feature aims to improve transaction privacy without sacrificing regulatory compatibility. The selective disclosure design stands out at a time when privacy-enhancing technologies in crypto face heightened regulatory scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions, with some privacy-focused protocols having faced enforcement actions.

By the end of Q2, Confidential Intents exceeded $30 million in total value locked (TVL). NEAR also reported that 42% of swaps executed through near.com were processed privately by default, indicating growing adoption of privacy-preserving transaction mechanisms.

Cross-Chain Partnerships Expand NEAR Distribution Strategy

NEAR continued expanding its cross-chain distribution through new ecosystem integrations. SimpleSwap integrated NEAR Intents across its platform, which serves more than 10 million users and supports over 2,800 digital assets. The integration broadens access to NEAR's cross-chain execution capabilities for users outside its native ecosystem.

Hardware wallet provider Ledger expanded support for Intents-powered swaps across more than 30 blockchain networks, allowing users to confirm transactions directly on Ledger devices. These partnerships reflect NEAR's strategy of embedding its infrastructure into existing crypto platforms rather than relying solely on native applications, an approach that mirrors broader industry efforts to make cross-chain interoperability a default feature of wallets and exchanges.

Q3 Outlook

Looking ahead, NEAR said Q3 will test whether its combination of elastic scaling, cross-chain execution, privacy technology, post-quantum security research, and embedded distribution can translate into stronger protocol revenue. As competition among Layer-1 blockchains intensifies, sustained user adoption and fee generation are expected to remain the key metrics that investors monitor.