# Use NEAR staking rewards to pay for AI > Not yet. Gatewayz yield-as-inference supports only ADA today, and NEAR is on the coming list. The plan is to turn NEAR staking rewards into the same kind of AI inference discount. NEAR delegation works through a validator's staking-pool smart contract: the NEAR moves into the contract, only the delegator can unstake it, and withdrawal is possible 4 epochs after unstaking. **In one line:** NEAR is coming, not live: delegation means depositing into a staking-pool contract, a different custody model from Cardano. You cannot use NEAR staking rewards to pay for AI on Gatewayz yet: NEAR is a coming asset, and the program runs on ADA only. The plan is to turn NEAR's native staking rewards into the same kind of [inference discount](/yield/glossary#inference-discount-balance) ADA holders get, keeping control with the holder as far as NEAR allows. The key difference from Cardano is custody: on NEAR, delegated tokens move into a validator's staking-pool smart contract. **Pre-launch.** The program is built and switched off on mainnet. A working demo runs on Cardano's preprod testnet with test ADA, by invitation. Not available to US or Canadian persons. Every participant must confirm they are not a US or Canadian person before linking a wallet. ## Key takeaways - NEAR is not live in yield-as-inference, and no launch date is set. - A holder delegates by depositing NEAR into a validator's staking-pool smart contract, which records their share. - Only the delegator can unstake and withdraw that share, but the tokens do sit in a contract, not in the holder's wallet. - Unstaked NEAR can be withdrawn 4 epochs later; an epoch is 43,200 blocks, ideally about 7.2 hours. - The NEAR docs we checked do not state a minimum stake or describe slashing for delegators. ## How does native NEAR staking work? A holder delegates by depositing NEAR into a validator's staking-pool smart contract, using its deposit-and-stake call (`deposit_and_stake`). The contract records the delegator's share of the pool. Custody works differently from Cardano. The NEAR moves out of the holder's account and into the staking-pool contract, and only the delegator can unstake and withdraw it. So the holder keeps the right to get the tokens back, but the tokens are held by a contract while staked. That puts NEAR between [non-custodial](/yield/glossary#non-custodial) delegation, where nothing moves, and [custodial](/yield/glossary#custodial) staking, where a third party holds your keys. Rewards are calculated per epoch and start after the next epoch. The pool's reward fee is deducted before the delegator's share is counted. ## How long does it take to unstake NEAR? 4 epochs after unstaking. An epoch is 43,200 blocks, ideally about 7.2 hours, so the wait is about 29 hours when blocks arrive on schedule. The NEAR docs we checked do not state a minimum stake, and they do not describe slashing for delegators. We do not fill either gap with a guess. ## How does NEAR staking compare with ADA delegation? The main difference is where the tokens sit while staked: in a contract for NEAR, in your own wallet for ADA. | | NEAR (native) | ADA (Cardano delegation) | | --- | --- | --- | | Custody | Deposited into a validator's staking-pool contract; only the delegator can unstake and withdraw | Stays in your wallet; delegation moves nothing | | Lock-up / unbonding | 4 epochs after unstaking (about 29 hours at the ideal 7.2-hour epoch) | None; spend or switch pools at any time | | Minimum | Not stated in the docs we checked | None in the sources we checked; a one-time 2 ADA stake address deposit, refunded on deregistration | | Slashing | Not stated in the docs we checked | None | | Reward cadence | Per epoch (ideally about 7.2 hours), starting after the next epoch, minus the pool's reward fee | Every 5-day [epoch](/yield/glossary#epoch); first rewards about 15 to 20 days after delegating | For the general trade-off, read [Non-custodial vs custodial staking](/yield/learn/non-custodial-vs-custodial-staking). ## What would Gatewayz need to support NEAR? A staking pool for holders to deposit into, a way to link a NEAR account to a Gatewayz account, and a way for Gatewayz to receive the rewards it converts. On Cardano the rewards arrive as the pool's fees; on NEAR the comparable piece is the pool's reward fee. The harder question is custody. On NEAR, staking means moving tokens into a staking-pool contract, so a NEAR version of this program would ask holders to trust a contract in a way the ADA program never does. The delegator alone can unstake and withdraw, which limits the exposure, but contract risk would still be new. As the [Risks](/yield/risks) page says, any asset that uses contracts will list its contract risk on its own page, so this page would set that out before NEAR went live. Accounting would follow the [ADA model](/yield/how-it-works): discount calculated only from rewards Gatewayz has actually received, never in advance. ## What can I use today? ADA. It is the one asset the program supports: you [delegate](/yield/glossary#delegation) from your own wallet, your ADA never moves, and rewards become an inference discount. The program is pre-launch, with a working demo on Cardano's preprod testnet by invitation, and is not available to US or Canadian persons. See [ADA](/yield/assets/ada) and [all assets](/yield/assets). ## Join the NEAR waitlist Waitlist sign-ups tell us which coming asset holders want next. Join the NEAR waitlist at https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/assets/near. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I use NEAR staking rewards to pay for AI on Gatewayz today? No. NEAR is a coming asset and no launch date is set. Today the program supports only ADA, and it is pre-launch. ### Does staking NEAR move my tokens? Yes. You deposit NEAR into a validator's staking-pool smart contract, which records your share. Only you can unstake and withdraw it, but while staked the tokens are held by the contract, unlike ADA, which never leaves your wallet. ### How long does it take to unstake NEAR? You can withdraw 4 epochs after unstaking. An epoch is 43,200 blocks, ideally about 7.2 hours, so the wait is about 29 hours when blocks arrive on schedule. ### When do NEAR staking rewards start? Rewards are calculated per epoch and start after the next epoch, with the staking pool's reward fee deducted. ### Can staked NEAR be slashed? The NEAR docs we checked do not describe slashing for delegators, so we cannot say. Check the official NEAR documentation before you stake. ## Sources - [NEAR docs: Staking](https://docs.near.org/protocol/network/staking), as of 2026-10-27 - [NEAR docs: Epoch](https://docs.near.org/protocol/network/epoch), as of 2026-10-27 - [Cardano.org: Stake your ada on Cardano](https://cardano.org/stake-pool-delegation/), as of 2026-10-27 - [Cardano.org Glossary: Stake Address Deposit](https://cardano.org/glossary/stake-address-deposit/), as of 2026-10-27 - [Cardano Docs: Cardano node (Slots and epochs)](https://docs.cardano.org/about-cardano/learn/cardano-node), as of 2026-10-27 ## Related - [Which crypto assets can pay for AI inference?](https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/assets) - [Stake ADA without giving it up, and pay for AI with the rewards](https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/assets/ada) - [Non-custodial vs custodial staking](https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/learn/non-custodial-vs-custodial-staking) - [The risks of ADA delegation with Gatewayz](https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/risks) --- Discounts are a share of staking rewards Gatewayz actually received, can change at any time, and are not a guaranteed return. Not available to US or Canadian persons. Every participant must confirm they are not a US or Canadian person before linking a wallet. Not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures as of 2026-10-27. Updated 2026-10-27. Canonical page: https://www.gatewayz.ai/yield/assets/near