On July 6, the on-chain governance body of NEAR Protocol — House of Stake — adopted proposal HSP-027, which fundamentally changes the network's tokenomics. The gas fee rebate mechanism for developers, which has existed since the protocol's launch, will be completely eliminated. This decision marks an important stage in the evolution of NEAR's economic model.
The essence of the changes is simple and radical: all network gas fees will now be burned. Previously, 30% of the gas fees generated by smart contract calls were directed to the contract owner, while the remaining 70% were destroyed. After the implementation of the update, scheduled for August 2026 with the release of nearcore v2.14, the rebate to developers will drop to zero. This decision effectively activates a deflationary mechanism for the NEAR token without changing the overall value accrual model in the network.
The vote showed a high level of consensus among veNEAR holders: 46 votes, representing 4.66 million veNEAR, were cast "for," and only two votes (1,819 veNEAR) were "against." Such an overwhelming majority speaks to the maturity of the community and its readiness for structural reforms.
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, who originally designed the rebate mechanism to incentivize developers, acknowledged that the system has become outdated. According to him, most applications built on NEAR today monetize differently: they sponsor gas costs for users and generate revenue through spreads, subscriptions, or advertising. Additionally, the rebate created accounting confusion, as it was difficult to distinguish from regular user deposits.
The Near DevHub account has already warned developers: "Do not factor this gas rebate into your dApp's budget anymore." This is a clear signal of the need to revise the financial models of projects built on NEAR.
Polosukhin characterized this vote as a "great test" for House of Stake ahead of future proposals, noting that "clear governance of NEAR's economy" has now been established. This is an important precedent, demonstrating that on-chain governance is capable of making complex and unpopular decisions if they lead to the long-term sustainability of the network.
Expert commentary: The elimination of the gas rebate for developers is not just a technical change but a strategic step that strengthens deflationary pressure on the NEAR token and simplifies the network's economic model. For developers, this means the need to find new ways to monetize, but for long-term holders, it is a positive signal indicating governance maturity and the protocol's readiness to adapt.