NEAR Launches Near.com super app, touting AI capabilities and confidential transactions

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email NEAR Launches Near.com super app, touting AI capabilities and confidential transactions The company is betting that the next big wave in crypto will come from its convergence with AI. By Margaux Nijkerk , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher Feb 23, 2026, 9:03 p.m. Make us preferred on Google NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin (Margaux Nijkerk/ CoinDesk) What to know : NEAR is launching Near.com, a new crypto wallet and consumer app that aims to make blockchain technology feel as simple as using a traditional finance app, while positioning itself at the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence (AI). The product was unveiled by NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, who described it as part of a broader shift toward what he calls the “agentic era,” a future where AI systems don’t just provide answers, but take action on behalf of users. 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. San Francisco, CA - NEAR is launching Near.com , a new crypto wallet and consumer app that aims to make blockchain technology feel as simple as using a traditional finance app, while positioning itself at the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence (AI). Polosukhin previously co-authored the paper that introduced the transformer model , the architecture underpinning modern AI systems like ChatGPT and many other large language models, and has increasingly focused on how blockchain infrastructure can support the next wave of AI-driven applications. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . “We are entering the world where AI is becoming our interface to compute,” Polosukhin said during the presentation. NEAR token is down nearly 3% over the last 24 hours. 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. Near.com super app (Margaux Nijkerk/ CoinDesk) 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 tradeoffs is transparency: transactions are typically visible to anyone. While that openness can build trust, it can also expose sensitive financial information. “Everything you do onchain is transparent,” Polosukhin said. “That’s not realistic for usual use cases, for day-to-day usage.” 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. The launch signals a broader shift for NEAR. “We have the stack. We have all the components. We have the product,” Polosukhin said. “Now we’re switching … to how we actually scale adoption — how we bring this to billions of people around the world.” Read more: Most Influential: Sam Altman Artificial Intelligence Near protocol Wallet decentralized AI AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You Kraken’s co-CEO could trust AI with 100% of his crypto — Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi isn’t convinced By Margaux Nijkerk , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher 1 minute ago At NEARCON 2026, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi delivered a sharp debate over how soon those agents can be trusted with real money. What to know : Crypto has a habit of declaring the future early. In recent months, that instinct has fixated on autonomous AI agents, self-driving wallets and trading systems that can move capital without human oversight. At NEARCON 2026, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi delivered a sharp debate over how soon those agents can be trusted with real money. The core disagreement wasn’t about whether agents will eventually manage capital, both believe they will, but about timing and risk tolerance. 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