NEAR Protocol’s House of Stake Votes to Cut Token Issuance 36%

NEAR’s House of Stake Backs Lower Token Issuance

On Nov. 2, 2026, NEAR’s House of Stake approved proposal HSP-029 with approximately 99.96% support, representing 3.29 million veNEAR in voting power. The decision advances another monetary policy overhaul for the layer one (L1) blockchain, which previously halved its maximum issuance rate in October 2025.

The latest measure targets a 1.6% annual ceiling, down from 2.5%, through a gradual adjustment spanning 24 months. Each epoch will bring an incremental reduction, averaging 0.0375 percentage points monthly, rather than an abrupt change that catches staking operators flat-footed.

The proposal changes just one protocol parameter. Its existing distribution formula remains intact, allocating 90% of newly minted tokens to staking participants and 10% to the treasury. No additional spending authority accompanies the measure.

SVRN Chief’s Proposal Faces Several Implementation Hurdles

Sal Ternullo, CEO of the Nasdaq-listed SVRN, authored the initiative. His company disclosed holdings of approximately 55 million NEAR, predominantly staked, accounting for more than 8% of the network’s staked supply.

Approval doesn’t immediately activate the adjustment. The House of Stake Security Council must first ratify the result, followed by an approximately 90-day preparation period for exchanges, custodians, wallets, and staking services.

Validators must subsequently implement a protocol upgrade before the scheduled reductions become binding. Quarterly disclosures will compare actual issuance against the published trajectory.

The initiative also follows the withdrawal of a separate Sovereign Fund proposal from NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, who cited risks associated with placing additional responsibilities on the protocol.

Token Supply Savings Come With Lower Staking Yields

Economic modeling accompanying HSP-029 estimates that approximately 11.8 million NEAR in additional issuance would be avoided during the first two years, expanding to 66.1 million over six years compared with maintaining the previous ceiling.

At full implementation, the blockchain network‘s projected daily creation falls from approximately 89,500 tokens to 57,300. However, gross staking yields are expected to decline from 5.268% to 3.372%, assuming participation levels remain comparable.

Validator commission income faces a projected 36% reduction under unchanged conditions, potentially squeezing smaller operators dependent on issuance-based compensation. Non-staking holders, meanwhile, stand to experience slower dilution without sacrificing rewards they weren’t collecting.

NEAR has no fixed maximum supply, although transaction fee burning offsets some emissions. With approximately 1.31 billion tokens circulating, its monetary policy increasingly centers on balancing security incentives against long-term supply growth.

The tension is straightforward. A blockchain protocol can mint fewer tokens, but its validators still need enough economic incentive to keep securing it.