San Francisco, CA – NEAR launches Near.com, a new crypto wallet and consumer app that aims to make blockchain technology as easy as using a traditional financial 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 that underpins modern AI systems like ChatGPT and many other major language models, and has increasingly focused on how blockchain infrastructure can support the next wave of AI-based applications.
“We are entering a world where AI becomes our computing interface,” Polosukhin said during the presentation.
The NEAR token is down almost 3% in 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 activities typically spread across multiple wallets and networks into a single, streamlined interface.
But NEAR’s ambitions go beyond simply building another portfolio. The company is betting that crypto’s next big wave will come from its convergence with AI.
As AI agents become more proficient, such as booking travel, handling emails, or handling online purchases, they will increasingly need to be able to complete transactions. This is where cryptographic infrastructure comes into play. Blockchains can provide programmable payments, global transfers and automated settlement without relying on traditional intermediaries.
Polosukhin argued that as AI systems begin to interact with each other, they effectively become “economic actors,” software that negotiates, pays, and coordinates tasks. In this world, crypto becomes the financial layer that allows these agents to operate.
Near.com is designed to serve as a layer, acting as both a user-friendly wallet and a cost-effective backend for AI-driven activities.
A key element of the announcement is confidentiality. One of the long-standing tradeoffs of blockchain is transparency: transactions are generally visible to everyone. While this openness can build trust, it can also reveal sensitive financial information.
“Everything you do on-chain is transparent,” Polosukhin said. “It’s not realistic for typical use cases, for everyday use.”
To solve this problem, NEAR introduced a “confidential mode” in Near.com. This feature allows balances, transfers, and trading activities to remain private within network security. The company says this makes the wallet more convenient not only for individuals and businesses, but also for AI agents who may need to perform transactions 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 move on to how we actually scale adoption – how we bring that to billions of people around the world.”
Read more: Most influential: Sam Altman
