NEAR governance backs gradual cut to 1.6% issuance ceiling

NEAR’s House of Stake approved a plan to lower the network’s maximum annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6%, setting a slower pace for new supply if validators adopt the required upgrade. Proposal HSP-029’s vote ended on November 2, according to Incrypted’s report on the vote. The approval sets a target and schedule; it does not change the live network parameter by itself.

How would the issuance rate fall?

The proposal reduces the maximum rate smoothly across 24 months, adjusting it each network epoch rather than making one immediate cut. The rate would decline by roughly 0.0375 percentage points per month, from the current 2.5% ceiling to 1.6% at the end of the ramp. An epoch is a recurring period in NEAR’s protocol, and applying the adjustment at each epoch spreads the change across the schedule.

The proposal keeps the existing distribution of newly issued NEAR: 90% goes to staking participants and 10% to the protocol treasury. In other words, the plan changes the size of the issuance stream while retaining its existing split. HSP-029’s proposal on the NEAR governance forum describes the ramp as a protocol parameter change, with no change to the staking mechanism.

What happens before the new ceiling takes effect?

The House of Stake vote is one step in the process. The proposal says the issuance cap requires a protocol upgrade adopted by validators; the vote alone cannot bind them. Incrypted reports that the proposal still needs review by the House of Stake Security Council, followed by validator adoption of the upgrade.

HSP-029 also sets out a grace period of about 90 days after ratification before the first reduction begins. The proposal says that period gives wallets, exchanges, custodians and staking services time to update. If the upgrade is adopted and the schedule proceeds, the rate then steps down each epoch until it reaches 1.6% after 24 months.

What does the vote change for NEAR holders?

A lower issuance ceiling means fewer new NEAR tokens would be created over time than under the current 2.5% ceiling. The proposal estimates 11.8 million fewer NEAR issued over the first two years compared with keeping the current rate. That is a projection in the proposal, not a change already reflected in the network’s supply.

The split means staking participants would continue to receive most newly issued tokens, while the treasury receives the remainder. The proposal estimates that gross staking yield would fall as issuance declines, assuming the share of NEAR staked stays constant. The vote therefore sets a path toward slower supply growth while leaving the final implementation dependent on a separate validator upgrade.

Sources and documents

• Incrypted’s report on the vote — incrypted.com
• proposal on the NEAR governance forum — gov.near.org