NEAR is an open-source blockchain platform for building decentralized apps with smart contracts. This system can handle more than 100 thousand transactions every second. The community-run cloud infrastructure of the NEAR blockchain can be used to set up and run the dApps. It's like a serverless database because it combines the best parts of both traditional database architectures. The NEAR token is a key part of the NEAR platform and makes it easier for apps built inside the NEAR ecosystem to work together. These parts of the NEAR blockchain make it possible for developers to make censorship-proof backends for smart contracts that handle sensitive information like personal information, assets, finances, and more.