Onchain Tools Closing the Gap With Centralized Exchanges NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin made a pointed case against centralized exchanges at the Digital Asset Summit 2026 in Singap
NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin made a pointed case against centralized exchanges at the Digital Asset Summit 2026 in Singapore, telling The Block that users no longer need centralized exchanges for "a lot" of crypto activity as near(.)com expands its onchain offerings.
Polosukhin illustrated his argument with a personal anecdote: one of his own accounts was deleted by a centralized exchange despite his knowing the company's CEO. "You log in, and it says this account doesn't exist," he said.
Near(.)com brings spot trading across different chains, tokenized stocks, earn products, and perpetual futures into one interface. Polosukhin described the platform as "almost there" and said it has a "big roadmap of things to keep adding," pointing to bank withdrawals, transaction records for tax purposes, and selective disclosure of confidential transactions among the areas it is working on.
Privacy is also a priority. Most of NEAR Intents' infrastructure has moved to a confidential shard, allowing trading activity to remain private while users can reveal individual transactions when needed.
Beyond crypto-to-crypto activity, Polosukhin outlined a broader vision. Near(.)com is working with Monerium to support conversions between euros held in traditional bank accounts and EURe, a euro-denominated stablecoin. Over the long term, Polosukhin said, the goal is to enable swaps of any asset through NEAR Intents.
Tokenized equities are already live on the platform. Tokenized stocks were added to near(.)com in September through an integration with Ondo Finance, and the platform plans to add more globally traded stocks. The launch started with 20 assets, including tokenized exposure to Tesla, NVIDIA, and Apple, as well as ETFs such as QQQ. Users can fund purchases with USDC, Bitcoin, or other supported assets held across more than 30 blockchain networks, all from one account.
Polosukhin also pointed to artificial intelligence as a coming force in onchain markets. He has previously argued that "the users of blockchain will be AI agents," with AI handling the front end and blockchain serving as the back end. That framing positions near(.)com not just as a trading platform, but as infrastructure for a future where automated agents handle onchain activity on behalf of users.
Sources:The Block: NEAR's Polosukhin sees shrinking need for centralized exchanges as onchain tools expandCoinGape: Ondo Finance Partners With near.com to Bring Tokenized U.S. Stocks and ETFs OnchainCrypto Reporter: near.com Partners With Ondo to Bring Tokenized U.S. Stocks and ETFs Alongside Crypto, Confidentially
