NEAR Foundation, the firm behind the NEAR protocol ecosystem development, is partnering with Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba Group's digital technology and intelligence backbone. The strategic alliance aims to galvanize the NEAR Foundation's reach into Alibaba Cloud's extensive developer ecosystem in Asia and the Middle East. By simplifying the process of launching new NEAR validators via Alibaba Cloud's "plug-and-play" infrastructure, the partnership seeks to attract more developers to build on the NEAR protocol. “Our partnership with Alibaba Cloud is a major milestone for the NEAR Foundation. It proves that NEAR protocol’s technology can truly lift the restrictions surrounding Web3 development, allowing more creators to build exciting applications and helping to onboard billions of Web2 users to the possibility of Web3," said Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation. Tooling and Infrastructure: Empowering Developers The NEAR Foundation and Alibaba Cloud are joining forces to offer Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) as a service to developers and users in the NEAR ecosystem. This service, coupled with multi-chain data indexing, provides developers with a data-query API, simplifying the process of searching data across multiple blockchains. App developers working on the NEAR Blockchain Operating System (BOS) can now leverage Alibaba Cloud's infrastructure. BOS offers a unified layer for browsing and discovering open web experiences compatible with any blockchain. Its standout feature, FastAuth, enables developers to onboard new users with just an email, eliminating the need for crypto. “Together with NEAR’s Node-as-a-Service initiative and BOS, we support the Web3 community to create exciting applications that will benefit a wide consumer audience. We are looking forward to what we can achieve with this partnership," said Raymond Xiao, Head of International Web3 Solutions, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. Market Response and Future Collaborations Following the partnership announcement, NEAR's market price witnessed an 8% surge to $1.57, signaling the market's positive response. As part of the partnership's future endeavors, both entities plan to expand their collaboration through participation in a variety of global Web3 conferences and events. The announcement follows closely on the heels of Alibaba's appointment of new Chairman Joseph Tsai, known for his active investments in the Web3 sector. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
