NEAR Falls 7% After Vote to Reduce Token Issuance Passes

Near Protocol’s NEAR token fell about 7% Tuesday morning after a community vote approved an issuance cut projected to keep 11.8 million tokens out of circulation over two years.

NEAR traded at $3.82 at 6:06 a.m. ET (11:06 UTC), valuing the projected two-year reduction at about $45 million at that price. The HSP-029 plan would bring the annual issuance ceiling down in stages, from 2.5% to 1.6% over a 24-month rollout. The proposal estimates 66.1 million fewer NEAR issued over six years.

The measure drew 99.9% of participating voting power, while about 3.28 million veNEAR backed it. It would also lower projected gross staking yields to 3.3% from 5.2% by the end of the transition.

The vote does not activate the new rate immediately. The Security Council has 14 days to veto the proposal. If it clears that window, ratification would be followed by a 90-day grace period. Validators must also adopt the technical upgrade needed to implement the change.