NEAR, the Layer-1 blockchain platform, is positioning itself at the confluence of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI) with the introduction of Near.com, a new cryptocurrency wallet and consumer app that seeks to make blockchain technology feel just as easy as using a conventional banking app.
The transformer model, the architecture behind contemporary AI systems like ChatGPT and numerous other big language models, was first presented in a paper that Polosukhin co-authored. Since then, he has concentrated more on how blockchain infrastructure can serve the upcoming generation of AI-driven applications.
During the presentation, Polosukhin said, “We are entering a world where AI is becoming our interface to compute.”
At its core, Near.com is designed to remove much of the friction that has long made crypto confusing for everyday users. Instead of worrying about gas fees, private keys or switching between different blockchains, users can manage their assets in one place.
“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.”
Near.com supports a range of digital assets, including bitcoin, stablecoins, NFTs and other tokens. The idea is to bring together activity that is typically spread across multiple wallets and networks into a single, streamlined interface.
But NEAR’s ambitions extend beyond building just another wallet. The company is betting that the next big wave in crypto will come from its convergence with AI.
As AI agents become more capable, like booking travel, managing emails or handling online purchases, they will increasingly need the ability to transact.
That’s where crypto infrastructure comes in. Blockchains can provide programmable payments, global transfers and automated settlement without relying on traditional intermediaries.
Polosukhin argued that as AI systems begin interacting with each other, they effectively become “economic actors,” software programs that negotiate, pay and coordinate tasks. In that world, crypto becomes the financial layer that allows these agents to operate.
Near.com is designed to serve as that layer, acting as both a user-friendly wallet for people and an economic backend for AI-driven activity.
A key part of the announcement is privacy. One of blockchain’s longstanding trade-offs is transparency: transactions are typically visible to anyone. While that openness can build trust, it can also expose sensitive financial information.
To address this, NEAR introduced a “confidential mode” within Near.com. The feature allows balances, transfers and trading activity to remain private within the network’s security framework.
The company says this makes the wallet more practical not only for individuals and businesses, but also for AI agents that may need to transact without revealing strategy or sensitive data.
You need to login in order to Like
Leave a comment