NEAR Pushes 'Chain Signatures' on Mainnet, in Growing Trend of Chain Abstraction

The feature was introduced in testnet in March, and allows users with a NEAR account to sign transactions on blockchains it supports, without the need for cross-chain bridges.

NEAR Foundation, a non-profit organization, announced on Thursday a new feature that will make seamless transactions possible between networks. This feature is now live on mainnet, showcasing the increasing popularity of projects centered around chain abstraction.

The feature, known as Chain Signatures, was first introduced in testnet in March. It enables users who have a NEAR account to sign transactions on any blockchain that is supported by Chain Signatures, without the need for cross-chain bridges. This move is designed to streamline the process of transacting on multiple chains, making it faster and easier to use.

Chain abstraction is a concept that aims to simplify the user experience in crypto, which has become more complex due to the growth of multi-chain ecosystems. One notable project that is working on chain abstraction is Router Protocol. This project is built using Cosmos blockchain technology and launched its main network last week. It is unrelated to NEAR's Chain Signatures.

In an interview with CoinDesk, Kendall Cole, CEO of Proximity Labs, explained that Chain Signatures is a key part of NEAR's chain abstraction strategy. Proximity Labs supports the NEAR ecosystem.

“It's definitely the core product,” said Cole. “It will enable some other really important products.”

According to NEAR, the introduction of Chain Signatures will make it easier to perform DeFi activities such as borrowing, lending, or trading.

“This capability dramatically expands the liquidity and utility of assets across blockchains, creating a seamless and efficient financial ecosystem,” NEAR wrote in a press release.

For instance, NEAR's Chain Signatures could be used to enable decentralized finance (DeFi) for blockchains like Bitcoin, which do not traditionally support smart contracts.

“We have one application going live that's kind of exploring that, which is a DEX that will let users trade between Bitcoin and any other chain,” Cole told CoinDesk.

Bitcoin has seen a lot of activity in recent months, with new projects emerging that aim to bring layer-2 networks and non-fungible tokens to the Bitcoin network.

“What our technology enables is a smart contract on NEAR to custody bitcoin on the Bitcoin network,” Cole told CoinDesk.

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