NEAR Protocol is a proof-of-stake public blockchain with smart contract capability that aims to act as a community-managed cloud computing platform. It provides a platform on which developers can build decentralized applications (dapps).

Each week, the NEAR Foundation publishes publish data to help the NEAR community understand the health of the ecosystem as part of their Transparency Report.

One of the main aspects to consider for these type of L1 blockchains is the competence. Users are constantly choosing for the best network to act and to use considering several aspects such as speed, success transactions, performance etc.

The intention of this analysis is to provide information about the current status of Near Protocol network activity by providing metrics such as:

• New users
• Active users
• Executed transactions
• Generated fees
• Gas used
• New contracts
• Active contracts

The most important metric for transparency is the activity on the network in terms of users usage. So, the first metric to be analyzed are the new and active users over the past weeks on Near.

One of the useful metrics to see if the network is healthy used is the amount of transactions being carried out by users. So, the next metric we are gonna analyze is the number of transactions being executed on Near.

2024 has been a transformative year for NEAR Protocol, marked by significant growth across all major metrics. Here are the key takeaways:

1. Massive User Adoption

   • 98.4M new users joined the ecosystem, with daily new users increasing from 100k in January to 500k by December.
   • The largest growth spikes occurred mid-year and in December, setting the stage for continued momentum.

2. Transaction Volume at Record Highs

   • Over 2 billion transactions were executed throughout the year.
   • Daily transactions doubled, climbing from 4M in January to 8M by mid-year, maintaining high levels thereafter.

3. Lower Transaction Fees

   • The average transaction fee was reduced from 0.001 $NEAR to 0.0006 $NEAR, a 40% reduction, increasing cost-effectiveness for users and developers.

4. Developer Engagement Remains Strong

   • More than 6,000 new contracts were deployed, with steady daily activity throughout the year, reflecting consistent developer interest in the ecosystem.

5. Active User Growth

   • Daily active users increased from 500k to 4M, showcasing a constantly expanding and engaged community.

The amount a user paid in fees for each transaction is important to the developemtn and success of a network. So, if the network congestion increase and the fees started to increase, it will be a moment when users started to do less transactions and the activity on the network will decrease, so its important to evaluate as well not only the gas price but also the amount of fees paid per transactions. So, the next metric we are gonna analyze is the amount of fees generated on Near and the gas spent.

The final metric to take into account is the amount of new and active contracts on the ecosystem. If the amount of new contracts increase, it would say that the network is growing and then, in expansion. So, its important to calculate this metric as well as the active contracts right now to see if the ecosystem is consistent.

NOTE: This dashboard builds on a template I previously used for weekly transparency reports. However, in this case, it has been adapted to showcase data spanning all of 2024, providing a comprehensive view of trends and insights throughout the year.