NEAR Protocol

NEAR Protocol is a sharded layer-1 blockchain designed for cross-chain execution and privacy. Its consumer-facing interface allows users to swap assets across more than 35 chains without manually bridging or managing gas on each network. The project has raised over $607 million in total funding and focuses on high throughput with low fees. NEAR already has a live token (NEAR), and in February 2026 it launched Confidential Intents — a private execution layer for cross-chain swaps that runs inside a private shard backed by Trusted Execution Environments. The team has confirmed an incentive program called [email protected], which distributes milestone tokens tied directly to the growth of Confidential Intents on near.com.

How to Participate in the NEAR Protocol Airdrop

The [email protected] program rewards sustained on-chain activity inside NEAR's confidential execution environment. Below is a practical step-by-step strategy that prioritizes consistent engagement over large last-minute deposits.

1. Create a NEAR account. Go to the NEAR website and register an account if you do not already have one.
2. Connect or set up a wallet. Link an existing wallet or use the built-in onboarding flow. Approve any signature requests needed to connect your account to the interface.Please verify the token approval amount; authorize only the specific amount required for the transaction.
3. Deposit funds into your account. Transfer assets from any supported chain. Accepted assets include USDC, USDT, SOL, NEAR, and BTC. The snapshot minimum is $100 held continuously in your confidential account.
4. Activate Confidential Account mode. Inside the interface, switch from "Main Account" to "Confidential Account." This moves your funds into the private shard execution environment where balances are shielded from public view.
5. Execute at least one confidential swap. Navigate to the Trade section and complete a swap from your confidential account using any available pair. This single swap is the floor requirement for snapshot eligibility.
6. Maintain your balance and swap regularly. Allocation scoring is time-weighted — a $100 balance held for two months ranks significantly higher than a $5,000 balance deposited one week before snapshot. Continue making confidential swaps on a weekly basis to increase your activity score over time.

Sustained participation strategy: Because the scoring formula weighs holding duration heavily, the most cost-effective approach is to deposit at least $100 as early as possible and perform weekly swaps rather than waiting and depositing a larger amount later. Keep in mind that no single wallet can receive more than 2% of Drop 1, which caps out at roughly 6,666 tokens regardless of how much capital you add beyond the scoring ceiling.

Potential Reward

Drop 1 allocates a fixed pool of 333,333 [email protected] milestone tokens. These tokens are non-transferable and convert 1:1 into NEAR once two on-chain conditions are both satisfied: aggregate Confidential Intents TVL reaches $70 million, and NEAR's volume-weighted average price holds at or above $3.33 for three consecutive days. Distribution is based on an on-chain activity score that combines your confidential balance weighted by time held plus your confidential swap activity. A second drop has been confirmed, with conditions calibrated to higher community activity than Drop 1.

Airdrop Requirements

• A NEAR account connected to the near.com interface
• A minimum sustained confidential balance of $100 in any accepted asset (USDC, USDT, SOL, NEAR, or BTC)
• At least one completed confidential swap from the Confidential Account
• Activity must occur before the TVL-triggered snapshot (currently TVL is around $20 million of the $70 million target)
• No single wallet may receive more than 2% of the Drop 1 pool

Latest NEAR Protocol Airdrop Updates

The snapshot has not been taken yet; TVL currently sits around $20 million against the $70 million trigger, so all activity recorded between now and the snapshot still counts toward Drop 1 allocation.

Risk

• Milestone conditions may take a long time to trigger. Both the $70 million TVL threshold and the $3.33 NEAR VWAP condition must be met simultaneously. If market conditions weaken or TVL growth stalls, milestone tokens could remain locked and non-transferable indefinitely.
• Opportunity cost of locked capital. The minimum $100 must stay in the confidential account continuously to score well. Those funds cannot be used elsewhere while you build your time-weighted allocation.
• TE-based privacy assumptions. Confidential Intents rely on Trusted Execution Environments. TEs are not equivalent to fully trustless cryptographic profs; hardware-level exploits, while rare, remain a theoretical attack surface.
• Scoring formula is not fully public. The exact weights between balance duration and swap count have not been disclosed, making it difficult to optimize your strategy with precision.
• Drop 2 conditions are undefined. While a second drop is confirmed, its requirements could change significantly based on community activity metrics set by the team.

FAQ

When will the [email protected] snapshot happen?

There is no fixed date. The snapshot triggers automatically when Confidential Intents TVL reaches $70 million. Since TVL currently sits around $20 million, the timeline depends entirely on how fast the community grows its confidential balances.

How much do I need to deposit to qualify?

The minimum requirement is $100 held continuously in your confidential account, plus at least one completed confidential swap. You do not need thousands of dollars — time-weighted holding of a smaller balance outperforms a large last-minute deposit in the scoring model.

Can I sell or transfer [email protected] tokens before the milestones are met?

No. Milestone tokens are non-transferable until both the TVL and price conditions are satisfied. Once both thresholds are met, each token converts 1:1 into liquid NEAR.

[Data sources: official website (near.org) / source JSON / project Twitter (@NEARProtocol) / Telegram (cryptonear)]