NEAR Governance Approves Plan to Lower Issuance Cap to 1.6%

NEAR Protocol's governance has approved a proposal to cut the network's annual token issuance cap from 10% to 1.6% over a 24-month phased reduction, a change that would lower staking rewards for validators and delegators. The vote marks a shift toward tighter tokenomics aimed at reducing long-term inflationary sell pressure on the NEAR token, though the reduction is not yet locked in. Activation still requires ratification by the NEAR Security Council and a validator-adopted protocol upgrade, leaving execution risk between the vote and implementation. The proposal's passage signals growing governance momentum behind deflationary-leaning supply policy among major proof-of-stake networks. Watch for the Security Council's ratification timeline and whether validators coordinate to ship the upgrade, as delays or rejection would keep current issuance—and staking yields—unchanged.