NEAR Blockchain Operating System is Now Live on Near.org
NEAR FOUNDATION
April 25, 2023
Earlier this year, NEAR announced the Blockchain Operating System. An industry-first category, the BOS is a common layer for browsing and discovering open web experiences, compatible with any blockchain. 

A real alternative to the Operating Systems of centralized platforms, the BOS is now live at near.org. As a blockchain operating system for an open web, the BOS is accessible to everyone, not just web3 natives. And it makes Web3 and Web2 easier than ever to access and navigate for users and developers alike. 

With the BOS, you no longer have to choose between decentralization and discoverability. Devs and users get the best of both worlds, whether they are new to Web3 experiences and want to play around, or developers looking to build an open web. 

Seamless Web2 style onboarding for Web3
When entering Web3, users want an easy Web2-style onboarding experience. Until the BOS, this just wasn’t possible. 

With FastAuth, BOS users get to experience a simple and seamless Web2 style onboarding. Users can get started quickly by creating an account for any app on the BOS — without the need for crypto. 

By putting the user experience at the center, FastAuth creates a familiar style of onboarding experience, in which users can create a free account with biometrics, phone prompts, and an email address. Users can now quickly interact with an app without having to remember long seed phrases and other difficult passwords. 

This will help dramatically move Web2 users into the Web3 space with ease. 

Developers are empowered to start and build quickly
The BOS isn’t just built for Web3 natives. It’s designed for any developer interested in open-source and decentralization. 

To make Web3 app development fast and easy, the BOS offers a comprehensive set of tools and capabilities to get developers started quickly. These developer enablement tools and capabilities make it possible for developers to quickly build composable apps for the open web, as well as build complete projects using current workflows, seamlessly onboard users, get feedback from real users, and increase discoverability. 

From Day 1, any developer can start building on the BOS, making Web3 a more accessible space for all. 

Making Web3 search as intuitive as Web2
Finding things in Web3 isn’t always easy. While decentralization is a core attraction to Web3, this very same benefit can make it hard to discover everything that Web3 has to offer. 

The NEAR Blockchain Operating System fixes this problem with a comprehensive search experience. On the BOS, users can now quickly find all of the apps and components for building on Web3, as well as connect to people and communities. 

BOS users can quickly discover apps, components, and reference documents with an integrated search bar, filtering, and sorting panels. Comprehensive search and discovery also benefits developers, entrepreneurs, and projects across the BOS by exposing their work to a large audience. 

Add and maintain new app experiences with BOS gateways
The BOS also features gateways — access points to Web3 apps that pull front-end code directly from the NEAR blockchain and render it for their users. 

Gateways assume a variety of forms, from wallets and portfolio management tools to popular single-use applications — like, SWEAT — that want to add additional functionality. Gateways help with simple tasks, like adding swap functionality, all the way up to creating decentralized app stores, and much more. This functionality is available by simply adding a JS library, then choosing which app front-ends you want to include.

Typically in Web3, developers spend a lot of time building and getting their apps discovered. During this process, users often need to switch between multiple platforms to discover apps and experiences. Gateways help to overcome this by making it possible to meet users where they already are, while giving them a broader range of apps and experiences. 

Govern your Web3 experience with a content moderation framework 
Traditional content moderation processes — seen most notably in Web2 social network apps— are centralized and often lack transparency, making them ill-equipped to meet the demands of content that is potentially offensive, risky, or illegal. With the growing influence of Web3 platforms the need for an innovative solution that addresses these challenges is more critical than ever. 

The BOS features a scalable, open source content moderation system. With these BOS features, users can govern their own online experience. 

The moderation framework leverages the power of the BOS to tackle the many challenges of managing User Generated Content (UGC) through community engagement and automation, providing a scalable, transparent solution to content review that is easy to use and legally compliant. 

With a decentralized approach and community-driven governance and moderation, the BOS’s moderation framework is poised to redefine content moderation for Web3 platforms and contribute significantly to a healthier online environment for all stakeholders. 

Build and discover apps on NEAR: the Blockchain Operating System for an Open Web
Whether you’re a Web3 developer, founder, end user, or someone just looking to get into crypto, the NEAR Blockchain Operating System is your easy entry point into the Open Web. 

Experiencing the BOS is as easy as visiting Near.org. Let’s build an open web!