Mass Exit: Inside the Numbers Behind NEAR Protocol’s 2026 Activity Decline

NEAR Protocol has recorded a sharp contraction in on-chain activity in 2026. Key usage metrics have fallen across daily active addresses, transaction volume, and account creation. The decline, which began in early April, has extended into May, marking one of the most significant short-term resets in the network’s history.

In this report, we uncover the numbers behind this sharp downturn, key drivers, and how NEAR currently compares with other blockchains. We also consider the network’s recent structural shifts and the current market outlook.

NEAR Sees Sharp Drop in Network Activity

NEAR’s daily active addresses fell dramatically on April 2, 2026. They dropped from approximately 3 million on April 1 to about 481,700, an 84% decline within 24 hours.

By May 6, the figure had further declined to around 280,800 daily active addresses, signaling a sustained downturn rather than a temporary fluctuation.

Transaction activity followed a similar pattern. NEAR recorded approximately 4 million transactions in mid-January, but this figure declined by about 75% to roughly 847,900 by May 6. The sharpest contraction occurred in early April. Transactions fell from around 3.76 million on April 1 to about 908,000 by April 3.

New account creation also weakened significantly, dropping from a February peak of 592,000 to about 125,000 by May 7. This indicates reduced onboarding activity across the ecosystem.

What Drove the Decline

End of Subsidy-Driven Activity from Kai-Ching

A major factor behind the contraction has been the winding down of activity linked to Kai-Ching (also known as KaiKai or KAIKAINOW). It is a consumer-focused application built on NEAR.

The platform had previously driven large-scale engagement through subsidy-based incentives. These included gas fee coverage, automated wallet onboarding, and reward mechanisms tied to its shopping and loyalty system. At its peak, Kai-Ching drove a significant share of NEAR’s daily active addresses, pushing totals above 3 million.

However, following the end of its incentive arrangements in early April 2026, activity linked to the application dropped sharply. This resulted in the rapid disappearance of low-engagement wallets that had been sustained primarily through rewards rather than organic usage.

The adjustment revealed a lower baseline level of network activity, which contributed heavily to the sudden 84% drop in daily active addresses.

SWEAT Economy Security Incident Adds Pressure

Additional pressure came from SWEAT Economy, another major application within the NEAR ecosystem.

On April 29, 2026, a vulnerability in the SWEAT token contract was exploited. This led to the unauthorized transfer of approximately 13.71 billion SWEAT tokens, valued between $2 million and $3.5 million at the time. The affected wallets were primarily linked to foundation-controlled addresses.

Although the team moved quickly to restore balances and contain the impact, the incident coincided with a decline in user engagement.

Daily SWEAT transactions fell from around 250,400 on April 26 to approximately 195,000 by May 6. This added to the broader contraction in NEAR ecosystem activity.

Comparison With Other Blockchains

The downturn on NEAR comes at a time when major blockchain networks are showing mixed activity trends.

On Ethereum, daily active addresses declined from approximately 956,000 in January 2026 to about 574,000 in May. However, transaction volume remained relatively stable, rising from around 2.8 million to 3.6 million before settling near 2 million.

On Solana, activity levels remained significantly higher. Daily active addresses ranged between 2 million and 3 million, with peaks above 5 million earlier in the year. Transaction volume also remained strong, reaching over 300 million monthly transactions in February before stabilizing around 262 million in May.

Compared to these networks, NEAR’s decline has been more abrupt, largely due to its previous reliance on incentive-driven consumer applications.

Structural Shift Behind the Metrics

The scale of NEAR’s decline reflects a structural recalibration rather than a uniform loss of demand. A significant portion of its prior activity was concentrated in subsidized applications, particularly Kai-Ching. This made the network’s metrics more sensitive to changes in incentive programs.

As those incentives wound down, activity normalized toward what appears to be a lower organic baseline.

Outlook

Despite the sharp decline in usage metrics, NEAR continues to advance its strategic shift toward Chain Abstraction. It is positioning itself as a coordination layer for cross-chain interactions.

The protocol has introduced Chain Signatures powered by a Multi-Party Computation (MPC) network. This enables a single NEAR account to execute transactions across more than 25 blockchains. These include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, without requiring bridges or wrapped assets.

Notably, this approach is part of NEAR’s broader effort to reposition itself as an execution layer for multi-chain and AI-driven applications. It is moving away from being a standalone transaction-focused network.

For now, however, the data reflects a clear transition phase, as the ecosystem adjusts from incentive-heavy activity models toward a more infrastructure-oriented direction. Time will tell whether these efforts bear fruit and whether NEAR’s network activity will ever return to its peak.