NEAR governance backs cutting annual token issuance cap to 1.6%

what happened

According to The Block, NEAR Protocol's House of Stake governance has approved HSP-029, a proposal that reduces the network's maximum annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% across 24 months. The measure passed Monday's ballot by a wide margin. The 90/10 split between stakers and the protocol treasury stays intact, and no other parameter is touched, so the emissions design itself is unchanged.

Once in force, the ceiling would drop by about 3.75 basis points each month, reaching 1.6% in month 24. According to the proposal, the active validator set is oversubscribed, and keeping the old rate shifts value from the roughly 57% of tokens not staked toward stakers while adding selling pressure. In an X post, NEAR described the change as a transparent, programmatic way to manage its economics, with lower long-term issuance and a publicly checkable supply schedule.

Projections in the proposal show about 11.8 million fewer NEAR issued over two years and 66.1 million over six, leaving total supply roughly 4.36% lower than under the current 2.5% cap. Daily issuance would fall from around 89,500 to 57,300 NEAR, and gross staking yield from 5.268% to 3.372%, assuming September's staking rate holds. Full effect requires the House of Stake Security Council to review and ratify the result, followed by a 90-day grace period, after which validators must roll out a network upgrade to make the change binding. The maximum was previously cut from 5% to 2.5% in October 2025.

why it matters

For the market, the key point is the anti-dilution mechanism: fewer new tokens means less supply competing with tokens already circulating. The figures come from the proposal's own estimates, and the final effect depends on ratification and validator upgrades.

market impact

NEAR: slower issuance cuts the inflow of new tokens and eases sell pressure

• ▲NEAR token pressure up — fewer new tokens enter circulation, easing sell pressure

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