What Is Near.com and Who Is It Built For?
NEAR has launched Near.com, a new crypto wallet and consumer app designed to make blockchain usage feel closer to a traditional finance application. The product was introduced by co-founder Illia Polosukhin, who framed it as part of a broader convergence between crypto infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Near.com brings together multiple digital assets — including bitcoin, stablecoins, NFTs and other tokens — into a single interface. Users can manage balances and transfers without handling gas fees, private keys or switching across different blockchains. “You don’t need to think about blockchains. You don’t need to think about gas, keys,” Polosukhin said. “You just use it as your main wallet.” The release targets a longstanding friction point in crypto: operational complexity. By abstracting network mechanics away from the user, NEAR is attempting to compete not just with other wallets, but with mainstream financial apps that prioritize simplicity.Investor Takeaway
Near.com is less about adding another wallet to the market and more about reframing crypto as invisible infrastructure beneath a consumer-grade interface.
Why Is NEAR Connecting Crypto With AI?
Polosukhin, who previously co-authored the transformer research paper that underpins many modern AI systems, including ChatGPT-style large language models, described the launch in the context of what he calls the “agentic era.” In that model, AI systems move beyond generating responses and begin taking action on behalf of users. “We are entering the world where AI is becoming our interface to compute,” Polosukhin said during the presentation. As AI agents take on tasks such as booking travel, managing digital services or executing online purchases, they will need payment rails. Blockchains offer programmable transfers and automated settlement without relying on traditional intermediaries. NEAR’s argument is that crypto infrastructure can serve as the financial layer for these autonomous systems. Polosukhin described AI agents as emerging “economic actors,” software programs capable of negotiating, paying and coordinating tasks. In that context, a wallet becomes more than a storage tool; it becomes a transaction engine for both humans and machines.How Does Privacy Factor Into the Design?
One of blockchain’s tradeoffs has always been transparency. Public ledgers make transactions visible by default, which can increase trust but also expose financial behavior. “Everything you do onchain is transparent,” Polosukhin said. “That’s not realistic for usual use cases, for day-to-day usage.” To address that concern, NEAR introduced a “confidential mode” within Near.com. The feature allows balances, transfers and trading activity to remain private while operating within the network’s security framework. The company argues this makes the product more practical for individuals, businesses and AI-driven systems that may need discretion around transaction strategy. Privacy tools also align with the AI thesis. If automated agents transact on behalf of users, full public visibility into every move could expose sensitive data or algorithmic strategy. Confidential transaction layers are therefore positioned as a requirement rather than an optional feature.Investor Takeaway
By combining wallet abstraction with privacy controls, NEAR is targeting both retail users and AI-native applications that require automated, discreet payments.
