Near Protocol Introduces Staking for AI Payments with $NEAR Tokens

Near Protocol's AI payments platform has introduced a new staking mechanism for users to pay for AI computing. This allows users to lock their $NEAR tokens and receive monthly compute credits based on the amount staked, rather than paying with a card.

The staked tokens remain in the user's wallet and can be returned after unstaking, making it a flexible payment option. The new system supports all 43 models available on $NEAR AI, including those from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google.

This is the first production use of Near Protocol's proposed 'AI money' model, which aims to connect AI usage directly with the blockchain asset that supports the network. The launch eliminates the need for a separate cloud account or payment provider to hold user credentials.