NEAR Announces New Protocol To Help Developers Create Multi-chain Dapps

NEAR Foundation has launched a new protocol designed to simplify the development of decentralized applications across multiple blockchains.

The NEAR Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit organization, has announced the mainnet release of Chain Signatures, a new protocol designed to simplify the development of decentralized applications across multiple distributed ledgers.

In an Aug. 8 blog announcement, the foundation said the protocol leverages a decentralized multi-party computation network, allowing NEAR (NEAR) accounts to “sign transactions on any blockchain protocol.” The development is expected to address issues related to fragmented liquidity within DeFi, reducing the need for numerous wallets, manual token bridging, and multiple transaction fees.

NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin believes that Chain Signatures will be a “game-changing innovation” that solves the problem of “fragmented liquidity in decentralized finance,” saying there will be “a single DeFi layer for all chains.” He added: “There is no more need for dozens of wallets and addresses, manual bridging, and paying gas fees in every token.”

The NEAR co-founder expects the solution to gain adoption soon as it opens up a “whole new design space for financial apps in web3, benefiting degens and also paving the way for new user bases.” The protocol is operational with several applications already utilizing it, including Sweat Wallet and the Defuse decentralized crypto exchange.

NEAR’s Chain Signatures network is supported by eight validators, with the initial audit conducted by Kudelski Security, a blockchain security firm based in Switzerland.