NEAR cut the rewards it pays stakers in half last year. Stakers, apparently, did not take it personally.
Nearly 46% of all NEAR tokens remain staked, according to Bitwise. That works out to 596 million tokens worth $3 billion, and the staking ratio has stayed stable even after the network halved its issuance.
The timing is notable. NEAR’s governance has opened voting on a proposal to cut issuance again, which makes this a live test of how far a network can trim rewards before participation starts to slip.
What Bitwise found
The figures come from Bitwise’s Q4 2026 Staking Report, released on October 20. The asset manager pegged NEAR’s staking ratio at 46%, with roughly 596 million tokens locked up.
Those stakers are earning an average yield of 4.87%. For anyone new to staking: holders lock up tokens to help secure the network, and the protocol pays them in newly issued tokens for the effort.
Independent network data largely backs Bitwise up. It shows a staking ratio between 45.7% and 46.1%, with roughly 590 to 598 million tokens staked, as of mid-to-late October 2026.
That same data puts total yields in a range of 4.6% to 4.9% for mid-October. Bitwise’s 4.87% average sits comfortably inside that band.
In late 2025, NEAR reduced its maximum annual issuance from 5% to 2.5%.
The ETF wrinkle
Bitwise is not just observing NEAR from the sidelines. The firm launched a NEAR ETF under the ticker NRR in late September 2026.
As of October 16, 2026, the fund reports a net staking rate of 3.31%, against a gross rate of 4.94%. The gap reflects what comes off the top before ETF holders see their share.
Another cut on the ballot
On October 19 and 20, 2026, NEAR governance opened voting on a proposal called HSP-029.
The proposal would lower maximum annual issuance again, this time from 2.5% to 1.6%. The reduction would phase in over 24 months rather than land all at once.
If it passes, projected gross staking yields could potentially fall to around 3.37%, assuming participation holds at current levels.
HSP-029 also lays out how new tokens would be divided. Under the proposal, 90% would go to stakers and 10% would go to the treasury.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.