The Near Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the Near ecosystem, has announced a significant 40% reduction in its team, despite apparently experiencing growth in the Near ecosystem during 2023. The decision will impact 35 employees, primarily from the marketing, business development, and community teams, as reported by Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol and CEO of Near Foundation.
This move follows a recent review that indicated the foundation’s activities were not as effective as expected, either due to slow execution or attempting to tackle too many tasks simultaneously. As a result, the foundation aims to consolidate its core team to focus on a narrower but more impactful set of activities.
Despite this personnel reduction, Polosukhin assures that the foundation’s treasury “remains strong.” He detailed that this treasury includes $285 million in cash, 305 million Near tokens valued at $1.1 billion, and $70 million in investments and loans. These figures indicate they are in a financially robust and well-managed position despite operational adjustments.
Despite the Reductions, the Near Foundation Maintains Financial Strength
The personnel reduction does not appear to be directly related to the overall performance of the ecosystem, as Polosukhin mentions that 2023 was a positive year. The protocol hosts some of the top applications in web3, with a significant increase in daily users, including four of the top ten DappRadar applications built on Near Protocol.
The foundation is committed to transitioning affected employees to new opportunities, either within the Near ecosystem or in the industry at large. Additionally, it frames the decision to reduce the team within a longer-term vision of decentralization. Polosukhin suggests that as the ecosystem decentralizes further over time, the foundation’s footprint will continue to decrease, with various nodes driving more activity across the network and the ecosystem.
The foundation maintains its focus on supporting the ongoing growth, development, and continued decentralization of the protocol. The financial strength and emphasis on long-term decentralization suggest a carefully planned strategy to adapt to the dynamics of the ecosystem.
