NEAR Switches to Confidential by Default Amid MEV Attack Concerns
The NEAR Protocol blockchain has switched to Confidential by Default mode, hiding users' balances, deposits, swaps, yield, and payments by default. This change aims to protect users from frontrunning and MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks.
Confidential Intents is the primary mode now, using a private shard with a TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) bridge to the mainnet. This setup hides trade parameters from the public mempool, preserving the ability to selectively disclose transactions to regulators or counterparties.
The execution environment runs on top of NEAR Intents, an abstraction system where swaps are executed by market makers competing for the best price. The Confidential Intents shard uses Trusted Execution rather than client-side generation of ZK (Zero-Knowledge) proofs.
According to July 2026 data, confidential transactions accounted for about 42% of the network's total trading volume. The team noted that the high activity of MEV bots was a main reason for the shift to Confidential by Default.