NEAR is a sharded, proof-of-stake blockchain. This guide covers NEAR-specific features when using DFNS wallets.
Sharded architecture
NEAR uses sharding to scale the network. Each account lives on a specific shard, and transactions are processed on the shard where the sender’s account resides.
Finding transactions
To locate a transaction on NEAR, you need both:
- The transaction hash
- The sender’s account ID (to identify the correct shard)
DFNS handles this automatically when indexing transactions.
DFNS uses the main shard for wallet operations.
Transfers
Use the Transfer Asset endpoint for NEAR transfers:
- Native NEAR: Use
kind: Native with amount in yoctoNEAR (1 NEAR = 10^24 yoctoNEAR)
- NEP-141 tokens: Use the appropriate kind with the token contract
Transaction expiration
DFNS builds NEAR transactions with a 14-hour expiration: the transaction must be broadcast within 14 hours of being built, otherwise it expires and must be rebuilt and re-signed. This applies to all transactions, including transfers, and gives this much time to sign and broadcast even if the signing infrastructure is temporarily unavailable (for example an unreachable on-prem signer).
SDK integration
For full transaction control, use the DFNS SDK with near-api-js. See the NEAR integration example.
