NEAR Hits 600ms Blocks and 1.2s Finality on Mainnet

• NEAR Protocol now delivers 600ms block times and 1.2s finality for faster and safer transactions.
• NEAR enhances blockchain performance without sacrificing decentralization or user confidence.

NEAR Protocol doesn’t just give sweet promises about speed, but real evidence on the mainnet: a new block appears every 600 milliseconds and transaction finality is achieved in just 1.2 seconds. What does that mean? Transactions can be confirmed and completed almost as fast as the blink of an eye—and that’s not a figure of speech.

If you’ve ever been annoyed by having to wait several minutes for a crypto transfer to be completely completed, this is the answer. With performance like this, NEAR is not just chasing speed for the sake of numbers, but truly providing a smooth and worry-free experience. No need to wait with a pounding heart for fear of a transaction being delayed or canceled because it’s not final.

Blink and it's final.

NEAR Protocol just dropped 600ms blocks + 1.2s finality on mainnet. Blazing-fast performance and secure execution—finally, a chain that delivers both

Some chains talk about fast blocks. NEAR delivers real finality in 1.2 seconds.
No compromises. No… pic.twitter.com/3nQXBQ1E2w

— NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) May 13, 2025

Near Protocol Expands Its Role Beyond Speed With AI and Cross-Chain Access

On the other hand, CNF reports that NEAR has also updated their Chain Signatures technology by adding support for the EdDSA algorithm. With this feature, NEAR users can sign transactions directly on other networks such as Solana, TON, and Aptos, without having to go through complicated and risky cross-chain bridges.

Furthermore, NEAR seems serious about establishing a position as a home for decentralized AI applications. At the TOKEN2049 Dubai conference on May 7, 2025, NEAR was present to highlight the importance of the integration between AI and blockchain.

They conveyed the vision that the combination of these two technologies can create a system that is more efficient, secure, and does not rely on a single authority.

This platform does have a strong foundation to realize this ambition. With a scalable sharding architecture and cross-chain interoperability, NEAR provides a flexible space for developers to build AI applications without having to worry about network load or transaction fees that make your head throb.

AI Agents, Blockchain, and the Near Future

Interestingly, on April 9, 2025, NEAR also introduced something quite futuristic—although it is already real: the Mindshare Index AI Agent. This is an autonomous AI agent that can trade automatically in the crypto market.

This agent uses Shade Agents technology to analyze the market and execute transactions without human intervention. Imagine having a ‘personal trader’ who never sleeps and has no emotions—that’s the role of this agent.

All of these steps show that NEAR is building not just a fast network, but an ecosystem that is ready to accommodate the future of Web3 and AI.

Meanwhile, as of press time, NEAR is swapped hands at about $3.17, up 2.86% over the last 24 hours and 34.52% over the last 7 days.