Layer 1 blockchain network Near Protocol announced a $350 million round led by FTX Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and others. This is on top of the $150 million Near raised in January. Launched in May 2020, Near offers a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, a scaling technology called “sharding,” and a unique block-producing implementation that boosts blockchain network throughput.

Near Protocol
Michael Tchong
Founder, Author, Adjunct Professor, Futurist
Michael is the founder of Toolhacker LLC, an innovation speaker and adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, futurist, and author of “Ubertrends — How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming Our Future.” He is also the founder of four ahead-of-the-wave startups, including MacWEEK, Atelier Systems, CyberAtlas, and ICONOCAST.