NEAR Governance Votes to Scrap Developer Gas Rebate

Gas Fee Distribution Change

100%

All gas fees will be burned instead of partially rebated to smart contract owners.

Vote Outcome

46 votes for vs 2 votes against

The proposal HSP-027 passed with significant support from the governance body.

Implementation Timeline

August 2026

The expected date for the new gas fee model to take effect with the nearcore v2.14 release.

§ 01 Executive Snapshot

What: NEAR's governance body votes to eliminate the developer gas rebate, changing the gas fee distribution to a burn-only model.
Who: NEAR's on-chain governance body, House of Stake, and co-founder Illia Polosukhin.
Why it matters: This decision simplifies the protocol and aims to align incentives better for developers within the NEAR ecosystem.

Proposal HSP-027 was passed to scrap the developer gas rebate, moving to a model where 100% of gas fees are burned.
The current model distributes 30% of gas fees to smart contract owners and burns 70%.
The expected implementation date for this change is around August 2026 with the nearcore v2.14 release.
The final vote was 46 in favor, representing 4.66 million veNEAR, versus 2 against, representing 1,819 veNEAR.
Polosukhin noted that the rebate mechanism no longer aligns with how most NEAR applications monetize.

The original gas rebate was designed to incentivize developers to create reusable components but has become misaligned with current monetization strategies.
This vote represents a significant test for House of Stake's governance authority over NEAR's economic parameters, indicating a shift towards more explicit economic governance.

The immediate consequence is a simplified protocol that may attract more developers by clarifying revenue models.
Long-term, the deflationary impact on NEAR's token issuance could enhance the value proposition for existing and potential holders.

A potential risk includes developer pushback if the new model does not adequately incentivize application building on NEAR.
Technical execution challenges could arise during the transition to the burn-only model, particularly in ensuring smooth integration with existing contracts.

The implementation timeline set for August 2026 will be critical to monitor for any delays or issues.
Future governance proposals will indicate how effectively House of Stake can manage NEAR's economic parameters following this decision.

§ 07

What is the recent decision made by NEAR's governance body?

NEAR's governance body voted to eliminate the developer gas rebate and shift to a burn-only model for gas fee distribution.

Why was the developer gas rebate scrapped?

The rebate mechanism was deemed misaligned with current monetization strategies for NEAR applications.

When is the new gas fee model expected to be implemented?

The new burn-only model is expected to be implemented around August 2026 with the nearcore v2.14 release.

Who is involved in this governance decision?

The decision was made by NEAR's on-chain governance body, House of Stake, and co-founder Illia Polosukhin.