NEAR Issuance Cut Vote – Can Small Validators Absorb It?

Voting opened on October 20 in NEAR’s House of Stake on HSP-029, a proposal to reduce maximum annual issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% in a straight-line change over 24 months after a 90-day grace period. The measure needs a supermajority in the governance system, where votes are weighted by locked NEAR, and validators must then adopt the protocol upgrade. The proposal’s author is Sal Ternullo, CEO of SVRN, which discloses holding about 55 million NEAR, more than 90% staked; the company estimates the cut would reduce its annual rewards by roughly 855,000 NEAR at the target rate. It follows a cut from 5% to 2.5% approved with 68.41% support that took effect in late October 2025.