Built on NEAR: Celebrating Partners and Innovators at NEARCON ’23

Partnerships are one of the biggest pillars to expanding NEAR’s footprint. They help drive the ecosystem toward fostering new and innovative use cases that will bring the next billion users to the open web. And that’s exactly what’s happening on NEAR, with partnerships ranging from sports to social taking center stage. At NEARCON — the ultimate Web3 education — a number of NEAR partners will be on-hand to talk about Web3 partnerships and innovation. 

Throughout the past few years, NEAR has engaged, collaborated, and built with partners who share the vision of a decentralized, user-centric open web. Each partnership is contributing their unique, innovative flair to the ecosystem, with a scalable, user-friendly blockchain helping to propel their efforts.

As NEARCON ‘23 approaches, let’s celebrate and explore how NEAR’s collaborations and partnerships are shaping the future of the open web. By registering for and attending NEARCON ‘23, you’ll be able to meet some of the following founders, entrepreneurs, and innovators below.

And these names are just the tip of the iceberg, so don’t forget to register for NEARCON ‘23 and let’s take part in learning, networking, and building an open web together.

Creating consumer fun and engagement in the open web

An area where NEAR partnerships are thriving is making the blockchain more fun and engaging for the masses. NEAR’s partnership with NFT launchpad Mintbase is a perfect illustration. Mintbase recently celebrated the traditional Indian festival, Raksha Bandhan, by seamlessly transforming photos into NFTs on the NEAR blockchain. 

During Raksha Bandan, sisters tie a good-luck talisman around the wrists of their brothers, a special moment often photographed and cherished by families. With Mintbase’s open web wallet built on NEAR, users could easily create an account without seed phrases and seamlessly upload their photos, transforming them into NFTs in an instant.

Let’s also toast to  GLASS, a one-of-a-kind Web3 platform that empowers alcohol brands to engage directly with consumers. Built on the NEAR blockchain, spirit brands can issue token rewards and other blockchain perks to social drinkers who try new cocktail recipes, socialize with friends, and vote on brand decisions. 

Gaming is also a key entry point into the open web, and NEAR’s partnership with PlayEmber is kicking the door wide open. PlayEmber’s creative gaming studio is fusing AAA quality mobile games on the blockchain, with NEAR providing the backend foundation. Decentralized mobile gaming experiences are now becoming more accessible to a wider audience.

Then there’s Cosmose AI’s KaiKai, a fusion of shopping, retail, and gamification dubbed”Shoppertainment.” Built on NEAR’s Blockchain Operating System (B.O.S), KaiKai offers a captivating brand discovery avenue, with features like Augmented Reality (AR) product interactions, exclusive product drops, and celebrity live streams. 

More than just a shopping app, KaiKai also uses a native cryptocurrency, Kai-Ching. Shoppers earn rewards with the help of Cosmose’s AI-powered personalization, all while transacting on the NEAR blockchain. It’s all about enhancing personalization, user empowerment, and engagements in the retail space with a unique, powerful blockchain twist.

And in a fusion of health and blockchain, Sweatcoin’s partnership with NEAR helps people earn SWEAT tokens with literally every step towards better fitness. With a user base of over 63 million who’ve clocked in more than 19 trillion steps, Sweatcoin and NEAR are incentivizing  healthier lifestyles.

Oleg Fomenko, co-founder of Sweatcoin, believes in the potential of merging health and blockchain, enabling users to “walk into the world of crypto.” This partnership, built on the NEAR blockchain, personifies the next level of open web adoption, encouraging physical wellness via crypto-based rewards.

Financial empowerment and innovation on NEAR

One of the biggest challenges that the open web is addressing is financial empowerment and inclusion. NEAR Foundation’s partnerships in this area are helping bring that vision to life. The Foundation’s collaboration with Proximity Labs is helping talented builders create innovative Web3 financial solutions, with substantial grants and support.

Calimero Network is another example of NEAR’s commitment to financial innovation. Calimero provides what’s called ‘private sharding’ infrastructure, a feature that ensures  data privacy in Web3 finance without sacrificing the power of open-source platforms. With both financial and technical support from NEAR, more business can be safely conducted on the blockchain.

Building the technical foundation for tomorrow’s open web

The ongoing partnership between NEAR Protocol and Octopus Network signifies the ecosystem’s infrastructure strides. Early on, Octopus Network selected NEAR as its “mother-chain” protocol citing speed ability to accommodate a large user base. Octopus Network and NEAR are paving the way for developers aiming to launch tailored applications using their own dedicated blockchains — also known as “Appchains” — making deployment a breeze.

Partnering with a tech infrastructure behemoth like Google Cloud is another way of giving Web3 startups pathways to world-class startup expertise. It’s all part of NEAR’s commitment to making blockchain solutions more accessible, robust, and primed for mainstream adoption.

In collaboration with Urbit, NEAR is also continuing to make the open web more user friendly. Urbit’s vision — shared and supported by the NEAR Foundation — is to improve the frontend experience of open web apps. Urbit allows developers to easily create sleek designs so that tomorrow’s decentralized applications are as seamless as the most popular ones in the App Store.

On another front, NEAR’s collaboration with SailGP is bringing Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to professional sports, creating a bridge between leagues and fans. The introduction of a DAO-owned racing team on the NEAR Protocol gives fans a novel way to engage, interact with, and participate in active decision making along with teams and athletes.

Partnership innovation rolls on at NEARCON

Past, current, and future partnership will take center stage at NEARCON 2023 — now less than a month away. It’ll be four full days of full immersion into the NEAR ecosystem — a place for you to truly step into the open web. Build on the B.O.S and network with thousands of other blockchain enthusiasts. Get the inside scoop on onboarding Web2 companies into Web3 with Google Cloud’s James Tromans, and get the low down on SWEAT with Oleg Fomenko.

From raising a glass to blockchain brand loyalty with GLASS and setting sail towards new DAO horizons with SailGP, each and every NEAR partner is playing its own pivotal role in crafting how tomorrow’s open web experiences will look, feel, and even taste. Better decentralized infrastructure, financial empowerment, and exciting consumer experiences are just the start.

Ready to dive into sessions, hackathons, and more in Lisbon at NEARCON 2023? Go ahead and register now to secure your spot.