Near Protocol is a high-speed blockchain with readable named accounts and Aurora (EVM supported). NEAR staking, shards and the taxation of its operations in Spain.

Near Protocol: staking, Aurora and taxation in Spain

Near Protocol is a high-speed blockchain that uses a sharding (Nightshade) approach to scale. It has a friendly account model (myname.near instead of 0x...) and Aurora, its EVM-compatible solution. Less popular in Spain than Ethereum or Solana, but with an active community.

NEAR Staking: validators and delegators

Near uses Delegated Proof of Stake:

Validators: Nodes that validate the network operate. They require a minimum stake (~10,000 NEAR in 2025).
Delegators: Anyone can delegate NEAR to a validator and receive part of their rewards.

Staking process:

Select a validator at near.org/staking.
Delegate NEAR.
Rewards accumulate automatically (auto-compound by default).

Taxation:

Auto-compound rewards raise the same question as in other protocols: is there a taxable event in each auto-compound even if you do not make an active claim?
Conservative criterion: Declare the rewards that accumulate as return on capital in the year in which they are generated.
Registration Tool: NearBlocks.io shows staking reward history.

Unstaking and waiting period

When delegating NEAR, there is a waiting period of ~52-65 hours (2-3 epochs of ~12 hours + release time). There is no accumulation of rewards during unbonding.

The unlocking itself does not generate a tax event.

Aurora: Near's EVM

Aurora is an EVM environment built on Near that allows you to run Ethereum smart contracts on Near:

Gas is paid in ETH (yes, in ETH, not in NEAR).
You can use MetaMask with Aurora by adding the network.
Aurora DeFi projects (Trisolaris DEX, Bastion lending) follow the same taxation as their Ethereum equivalents.

Bridges Near ↔ Aurora ↔ Ethereum:
You can move assets between Near, Aurora and Ethereum via the Rainbow Bridge (Near official):

Same treatment as any bridge: if the ownership does not change, it is probably not a transfer.
But it records all operations.

Airdrops in the Near ecosystem

Several Near ecosystem projects have airdropped to NEAR stakers or active users:

Same taxation as general airdrops: capital gain upon receipt.
Market price at the time of receipt.

NameSky and the .near domain

Near accounts have human-readable names (example: "miruta.near"). This is similar to an ENS on Ethereum:

Buying a .near name: cost in NEAR → possible loss (probably no gain from the name itself because you are not transmitting it when purchasing it, it is a service).
Sell a .near name: capital gain on the price paid → just like an NFT.

Ref Finance: Near's premier DEX

Ref Finance is the main DEX of the Near ecosystem:

Swaps: Each swap is a transmission → gain/loss.
Liquidity pools: Deposit can be transmission, rewards are movable capital.
Farming: Reward tokens → return on capital.

Registration tools for Near

NearBlocks.io: Near's main browser. Export transaction history.
NearVault.dev: Shows detailed staking and rewards history.
Koinly: Nearby support. Import wallet history.
NEAR Wallet / MyNear.wallet: Web wallets with integrated history.

Updated: April 2026 | Fiscal year: 2025

Near Protocol and the Aurora ecosystem: staking, DeFi and taxation