HSP-004: NEAR Protocol Membership in UN Blockchain Council

House of Stake Proposals
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1. Point of Contact

Primary Contact: @Gus & @JPALHUMAIDAN

Email: gus@nearweek.com, p3ter@nearweek.com

NEAR Address: nearweek.near

2. Proposal Type

Category: Strategic Partnership & Representation

By submitting this proposal, the point of contact represents and warrants that the information provided is true and complete to the best of their knowledge.

3. Executive Summary

NEAR Protocol has been invited to join the UN Blockchain Council and participate in the Blockchain for Good Alliance initiative launched by Bybit, which consolidates 200+ UN blockchain and AI pilots into a coherent production-ready initiative. This proposal requests House of Stake to accept this membership on behalf of the NEAR ecosystem and appoint representatives to actively participate in UN workshops, technical advisory roles, and thought leadership activities related to the intersection of AI and blockchain. The impacted stakeholders include the entire NEAR ecosystem, validators, developers, and organizations seeking real-world impact through blockchain technology. The desired outcome is establishing NEAR’s presence alongside major protocols (Ethereum Foundation, Solana Foundation, Stellar Development Foundation, Cardano Foundation, Sui Foundation, FLock and others) in shaping global blockchain standards for UN agencies and government initiatives

4. Motivation

The NEAR Foundation has declined to pursue this opportunity despite its strategic value and participation being a low-hanging fruit. However, allowing this invitation to lapse would be detrimental to the NEAR ecosystem for several reasons:

Strategic Positioning: Major blockchain protocols including Cardano Foundation, Algorand Foundation, Polygon Labs, Solana Foundation, Ethereum Foundation, Stellar Development Foundation, Sui Foundation, Hedera, Arbitrum Foundation, Filecoin Foundation, Dfinity Foundation, Web3 Foundation, Celo Foundation, and Tether have secured seats on the council. NEAR’s absence would signal lack of commitment to real-world impact and institutional adoption.

Market Access: The UN is merging 200+ blockchain and AI pilots into production systems across UN agencies, working directly with governments and major enterprises to establish standards. UN accelerators currently promote member protocols (Stellar, Ethereum, Sui, Cardano) to their global network and actively want to harness blockchain technology to develop, pilot, and scale innovative solutions to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are real world problems worth billions of dollars. Additionally, growing a strong relationship with one of the largest exchanges in the world Bybit.

Ecosystem Credibility: Participation demonstrates NEAR’s commitment to sustainable development goals and positions the protocol for government and institutional partnerships. The Blockchain for Good Alliance accelerator delivers blockchain solutions aligned with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals across five global regions.

Low Investment, High Return: Council membership requires active participation in workshops, technical advisory for hackathons, and thought leadership - activities that align with existing ecosystem development goals and require modest resource allocation compared to the potential outcomes.

No Conflicts of Interest: This proposal serves the broader NEAR ecosystem without benefiting any specific entity disproportionately. The opportunity originated through blockchain community connections in Copenhagen and represents a community-driven initiative.

5. Specifications

Technical Details

Membership Responsibilities:

  • Active participation in UN Blockchain Council workshops and quarterly meeting

  • Technical advisory support for UN hackathons and developer programs

  • Contribution to standards development for blockchain integration across UN agencies

  • Thought leadership through speaking engagements and SoMe presence

  • Collaboration with other council members on cross-chain initiatives for SDG impact - e.g. the AI x blockchain intersection or NEAR Intents tech integration.

Representative Structure:

  • Initial representatives: Gustav Friis and myself - NEARWEEK and NEAR community members with social good x tech passion.

  • Long-term: House of Stake-appointed representatives.

  • Reporting: Quarterly updates to House of Stake governance forum.

Resource Requirements:

  • Travel budget for 2 persons, 2-4 annual UN events (estimated $10,000-20,000 annually)

  • Time commitment: 10-15 hours monthly for council participation

  • Communication and coordination support

Impact Summary / KPIs

Success Metrics:

  1. Visibility: NEAR featured in minimum 1 UN accelerator program

  2. Developer Engagement: Minimum 2 NEAR-based projects accepted into UN blockchain accelerators annually

  3. Standards Participation: NEAR representatives contribute to at least 2 technical standards or frameworks for UN blockchain deployment

  4. Partnership Pipeline: Generate minimum 1 qualified lead for government or institutional partnerships

  5. Ecosystem Growth: Attract minimum 3 developers or projects focused on social impact use cases to NEAR ecosystem

Strategic Goals Supported:

  • Real-world adoption and institutional legitimacy

  • Developer ecosystem growth in impact-focused verticals

  • Protocol differentiation through social good positioning

  • Network effects from collaboration with leading protocols

6. Success Criteria

Phase 1 (Months 1-3): Onboarding

  • Official membership confirmed and announced

  • Representatives attend first council meeting

  • NEAR added to UN Blockchain Council website and materials

  • Initial assessment of collaboration opportunities completed

Phase 2 (Months 4-12): Active Participation

  • Representatives attend minimum 75% of scheduled council activities

  • NEAR contributes to at least 1 technical working group or standards initiative

  • Minimum 1 NEAR-based project enters UN accelerator pipeline

  • Quarterly governance updates delivered to House of Stake

Phase 3 (Month 12+): Ongoing Impact

  • Measurable progress on all KPIs listed in Section 5

  • Transition plan developed for long-term representative structure

  • Community assessment of value delivered vs. resources invested

7. Action Plan

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Implementation Steps

  1. Immediate (Upon Approval):

    • Gustav Friis and co-lead formally accept UN Blockchain Council membership on behalf of House of Stake.

    • Establish communication channel.

    • Brief representatives on NEAR protocol capabilities and ecosystem priorities.

  2. Short-term (Months 1-3):

    • Attend inaugural council meetings and workshops

    • Identify 2-3 high-priority collaboration areas (e.g. AI x Blockchain solutions, Intents based cross-chain payments, carbon markets etc.)

    • Connect with UNDP AltFinLab and Blockchain for Good Alliance leadership

    • Deliver first quarterly report to governance forum

  3. Medium-term (Months 4-12):

    • Support NEAR developers interested in UN-aligned projects to apply for accelerator programs

    • Contribute technical expertise to working groups

    • Co-organize or sponsor at least 1 hackathon or workshop

    • Build relationships with government and institutional contacts

  4. Long-term (Month 12+):

    • Evaluate transition to permanent representative structure appointed by House of Stake

    • Assess renewal of membership and resource allocation

    • Scale successful initiatives (e.g., dedicated NEAR Social Impact Fund if demand warrants)

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8. Budget Request

Year 1 Total: $20,000 (denominated in USD equivalent)

Breakdown:

  • Travel & accommodation for UN events: $20,000

Payment Schedule:

  • Reimbursement based.

9. Conclusion

NEAR Protocol’s invitation to join the UN Blockchain Council represents a strategic opportunity that the broader community should not allow to pass. With major protocols already positioned as technical partners to UN agencies, NEAR’s participation ensures ecosystem representation in emerging standards for government and institutional blockchain deployment. This proposal requests the House of Stake to accept the membership and appoint initial representatives (Gustav Friis and myself) to establish NEAR’s presence, with transition to a permanent governance-appointed structure within 12 months. The modest investment required ($20,000 Year 1) delivers significant strategic value through visibility, developer ecosystem growth, institutional credibility, and alignment with real-world impact initiatives. Success will be measured through concrete metrics including UN program participation, developer engagement, standards contribution, and partnership pipeline development.

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Additional Resources:**

7 Likes
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Thank you so much, @JPALHUMAIDAN for this proposal. I can see the benefits of this proposal for NEAR. However, do have a question, since I don’t see your proposal on the GitHub proposal list if it’s has been validated/reviewed by the Screening Committee as per HSP-01 process? I would reach out to the @HackHumanity team or @lane for any help regarding the SC. I hope that helps. Tks!

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@coffee-crusher, at this time it has at least a 7-day deliberation and feedback period - then @JPALHUMAIDAN can gather that feedback and produce a version with this additional information that goes to GitHub & gov.houseofstake.org

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Thanks for responding, @HackHumanity , I was thinking that maybe in HSP-001 we add for this phase, that the subject header uses this format: “HSP-XXX” in it’s header, to identify that it’s in Phase 1 before it’s submitted to GitHub?

That way, it’s easier for the community to understand what phase the proposal is in (pre or post GitHub & Security Council review). I can add these comments to the HSP-001 forum post, so it’s captured.

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Makes sense to me - HSP-XXX would be a more appropriate title, since the HSP ID isn’t actually assigned until it’s merged into the github repo! Or just “HSP DRAFT” or “NEW HSP” or something.

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It would be nice if you can make an instruction on how to do it.

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I’m finalizing this and working on getting it installed on the website as we speak: Revise proposal and voting process documentation by lrettig · Pull Request #22 · houseofstake/houseofstake.org · GitHub

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Would it be reasonable to clarify that these are quarterly goals?

Standards Participation: NEAR representatives contribute to at least 2 technical standards or frameworks for UN blockchain deployment

Ecosystem Growth: Attract minimum 3 developers or projects focused on social impact use cases to NEAR ecosystem

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We don’t think so, here’s why:

We understand where you are coming from. Realistically I think we should assume the process moves very slow.

Our thinking is that if NEAR is part of for example 1 major standard within cross-chain liquidity or user owned AI infrastructure, this in itself would be major, also the credibility of having social media / content, partner logos, X spaces and other stuff.

We think bringing up leads to institutions, MVPs with agencies, thought-leadership pieces are top relevant.

But to achieve such specific KPIs within 3 months is unrealistic.

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First of all, I really like the idea of engaging with the UN and working toward the SDGs. This could significantly expand NEAR’s opportunities to collaborate with governments and institutions across different regions.

However, the proposal includes a few points that I believe should be considered:

  • When referring to participation in accelerators, there is already a proven track record in Web3 showing that incubating projects is often not as profitable or impactful as expected. I would deprioritize this element.

  • I would instead place stronger emphasis on contributing to standards development. NEAR has deep technical expertise and can provide substantial value in shaping global blockchain standards.

  • I also recommend expanding the focus on securing governmental and institutional partnerships, since this is an area with very high strategic relevance.

A few questions:

  • Are there any additional costs not included in the current budget? If we approve this proposal, is it likely that further funding requests will be needed to achieve the listed goals—such as engineering time for standards development or other derivative expenses?

  • Could the budget be structured quarterly? It is generally a best practice within the ecosystem to divide an annual budget into quarterly allocations for better planning, reporting, and accountability.

  • Also, can we know why NF rejected this invitation?

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Hey @cloudmex-alan thanks for your thoughtful review and support for the proposal. The most updated proposal adopted to the HSP format can be found in the linked PR. IMO it seems most of your recommendations are already reflected there, do you agree? To our knowledge the current expected costs are already reflected in the budget, in the PR the budget is structured as quarterly reimbursements.

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I renamed this thread to align with the HSP ID assigned here:

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The themes of supranational technocratic management generally stand in contrast to the goals of decentralized blockchain culture.

This would be another expense which serves employees and insiders, while doing nothing for the overall ecosystem. We’ve yet to see any tangible results from the category of top-down initiatives.

Consider this proposal with extreme skepticism.

1 Like