NEAR Makes the Case for Mainstream Privacy, NFT Communities Start Building Again

NEAR was presented as a privacy network with practical use and business applications, rather than privacy as an end in itself. The host compared Zcash to Bitcoin’s privacy analogue and NEAR to Ethereum’s, and said NEAR was seeing more use than Zcash. He viewed NEAR below $5 as a buy, citing a market capitalization of about $6 billion and the possibility of a fourfold rise back to its $17.74 all-time high. These were personal views, not guarantees: he said promotion by influential people was helping both NEAR and Zcash and might not last.

NEAR Intents is intended to keep balances, trades, routes, and counterparties private between publicly visible deposits and withdrawals. Mando described the approach as aimed at mainstream users, not designed for laundering, and compatible with cooperation with government agencies. Ilya said NEAR is permissionless, but applications and liquidity providers are not required to process every transaction. SHIELD shares real-time risk intelligence so participants can decline suspected stolen funds, without making all transaction details public.

The Bitget-related transfers illustrated both the system’s limits and the disagreement over intervention. Ilya said $50 million in attempted transfers through NEAR Intents had been identified; Star Platinum said $166,000 got through, $500,000 was stopped during execution, and most other attempts were rejected before swaps completed. Vadim said SHIELD matched a public deposit address to stolen-funds intelligence and did not need confidential account activity. Star Platinum said suspicious quotes can be rejected or unfinished transfers stopped, but NEAR cannot freeze an entire Ethereum wallet or reverse a cross-chain transaction. Vadim separately described viewing keys and a compliance council able to open a specific account when law enforcement presents evidence, stressing that this was not how the Bitget-related funds were stopped. Speakers differed on whether stopping suspected theft before funds reach a wallet is appropriate mitigation or a threat to self-sovereignty.

The NFT conversation focused on renewed community participation rather than floor prices. Songworkers, Rare Friends, and Credits were cited as signs that collectors are again building projects alongside or on top of brands’ technology, infrastructure, and IP. Stoop Burgers was described as an active, entrepreneurial community, with members creating projects such as a “credit union”; third parties have also built sites and data around Credits and Rare Friends. Speakers said these efforts can generate network effects and encourage both established and new brands to contribute through small activations and games. Jenkins of Ally was offered as a caution: after a project using Yuga IP shut down and pivoted, its collectors were not brought along.

The discussion also challenged the use of floor prices or daily active traders as measures of a community’s health. Holders may keep collectibles for years and participate in rewards, airdrops, allocations, and other community activity; Rare Friends and Stonk Broker were cited as examples of engaged holders. Credit collections are attracting fresh interest as artists build projects around them. Debit Smith, a permissionless derivative of Jack Butcher’s Credits, launched as a 48-hour open edition at 0.003 ETH per debit. Its plan is to use 80% of mint proceeds to buy credits, burn 80 credits to claim a statement, and distribute sale proceeds pro rata to debit holders. The speaker said debits have no rarity and remaining credits would be randomly airdropped, while acknowledging uncertainty about the project’s arbitrage mechanics.

ERC-8426 would let functional NFTs sit in Apple or Google Wallets and support actions such as staking, voting, and trading without a separate wallet app or website. Hot Club said Apple and Google had approved the functionality, but the proposal still needed developer comments and review before it could be merged. Speakers also pointed to a reported Up Company project allocation on Robinhood Chain for OCH Ring Bear holders, and said community-led building could create more chances for projects to succeed. A NEAR ETF was said to be coming, but no timing or status details were given; one speaker was unsure it would lift the price, while suggesting it might support the network’s long-term health and price floor.