Near Protocol, a decentralized application (DApp), will unveil an updated blockchain operating system focused on enhancing the Web3 user experience via a common layer for exploring and uncovering open web resources, the company confirmed at the Web3 and innovation festival ETHDenver 2023. During the gathering, Near co-founder Illia Polosukhin spoke with Cointelegraph’s Turner Wright about how the network is becoming more user-centric and the debut of the Blockchain Operating System (BOS).
As described by the Near team, the platform can be used with any blockchain or Web2 database, enabling users to experience a singular program even when transitioning between apps or chains. The options guarantee to provide decentralized and configurable frontends for coders, facilitating the forking of elements and built-ins like payments, identities, and alerts without the need for a web host.
Polosukhin remarked concerning the blockchain operating system:
“The iOS provides developers with a platform to display their app in front of billions of users, as well as the services and infrastructure necessary to create, so you can basically just put in here. This is what we are attempting to achieve by providing the distribution, the platform, and allowing developers to build.”
The protocol, which is a rival to Ethereum with smart contract capabilities and a proof-of-stake blockchain, is geared for a 10-fold increase in important indicators such as transactions processed, monthly active wallets, endeavors onboarded, coders, and investments made in the environment, according to the co-founder.
“They turned to us, many of them due to the fact they saw you can code JavaScript smart contracts,” Polosukhin said of Near’s expansion in the last year, in conjunction with a look for existing programs with an established customer base. It is roughly three times less expensive to employ coders. This makes it more effective not only for consumers but also for coders.”
Polosukhin is also one of the creators of the Unchain Fund, a fundraising initiative launched last year to assist war-affected Ukrainians. At the beginning of 2023, the fund had received over $9 million in contributions, almost exclusively in crypto assets.
As per him, the collected funds were essential for helping the citizens of Ukraine in the initial weeks of the conflict, while overseas aid was proceeding at a slower pace: “The Red Cross, UNICEF, it takes them months to get all of their processes up and running whenever something occurs. They are sluggish […], but once they arrive, they have the process, establish it, construct the logistical and supply chain infrastructure, and can begin delivery. So, in a sense, cryptocurrency funds provided in the beginning, comparable to the start-up period for a comparable form of government assistance.”
A portion of the financing was allocated to a program that provides weekly compensation of 25 euros to approximately 6,000 Ukrainian women who have fled their homes with their children. Through the worldwide effort United24, the proceeds were further utilized to buy ambulances.
