NEAR Business, an invite-only platform for managing corporate treasuries onchain, has attracted several million dollars in assets since its October 20 launch, according to Harshit Tiwari, vice president of growth at NEAR. The platform allows companies to handle payroll, vendor payments, swaps, and treasury operations across more than 35 blockchains while keeping transaction details private.
Tiwari told Crypto Briefing in a written interview that businesses will not move their finances onchain while every salary, supplier payment, and reserve balance remains visible to competitors. He argued that confidentiality should be the default, as public blockchains expose financial activity to competitors and potential attackers. He added that businesses need selective disclosure mechanisms to share records with auditors and regulators without making transactions publicly accessible.
Privacy and transparency
NEAR Business separates financial confidentiality from governance transparency. Transaction amounts, assets, and recipients remain private, while membership, roles, and approval decisions are publicly verifiable onchain. The platform uses a self-custodial multisignature Treasury Contract, with transactions authorized through NEAR’s multiparty computation network once the required approvals are met. Tiwari did not clarify whether operators of the confidential shard can access the underlying transaction data.
Interest and security
Interest in the platform ranges from layer 1 foundations to early-stage startups, Tiwari said. Existing NEAR Intents partners are also opening treasuries to collect and store fees. The launch follows an October 1 exploit of NEAR Intents, the crosschain trading infrastructure supporting NEAR Business, in which an attacker drained approximately $3.8 million through a vulnerability involving its Omni deposit and withdrawal system. The attacker returned the funds after NEAR Intents issued a 48-hour ultimatum. Tiwari said the protocol has since strengthened its deposit infrastructure and expanded SHIELD, its AI-powered threat detection system, with real-time anomaly monitoring and security feeds from partners including ZeroShadow and Seal911.
Fees and future plans
NEAR Business charges no subscription fee, instead collecting fees on swaps executed through NEAR Intents. Tiwari said the protocol is exploring optional enterprise tiers while developing custom spending policies for broader commercial use. Unlike privacy platforms such as Zama and Aztec, NEAR Business is designed to operate across multiple blockchains rather than within a single ecosystem, he said.
Looking ahead, Tiwari expects AI agents to execute a growing share of financial transactions. He said supporting automated treasury operations will require additional safeguards, including formal code verification, confidential computing, and transaction monitoring.
