Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz Joins NEAR Foundation Council
Helius CEO named to NEAR Foundation governing body
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure firm Helius, has been appointed to the NEAR Foundation Council, the organization said in a statement shared with The Block on Thursday.
The Council oversees the foundation and its most significant decisions. Current members include NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, Anchorage Digital co-founder Diogo Mónica, former NEAR Foundation COO Chris Donovan, and NEAR One founder Bowen Wang.
Mumtaz will help guide product strategy, ecosystem growth, and governance as NEAR expands its private onchain market vision. He will also judge the upcoming NEAR Hackathon running from November 1 to 14.
Key appointments and background
- Mumtaz leads Helius, which builds Solana infrastructure used by teams including Phantom, Jupiter, Coinbase, and Bitwise. Its services include remote procedure call nodes, data streaming, transaction delivery, and validators.
- He was an early NEAR Intents user and called the protocol "the market of markets" before most of the industry caught on, according to the foundation.
- NEAR Intents has processed more than $33 billion in all-time volume, with confidential total value locked now above $160 million.
What the NEAR Foundation says
"Mert's conviction, technical depth, and direct approach will be a great asset for the NEAR Foundation Council as we work to bring private assets and markets to every chain," Polosukhin said. "His sharp perspective and shared belief in the vision will be a major advantage for NEAR in shaping what we build next."
Recent security incident at NEAR Intents
Earlier this month, NEAR Intents suffered a $3.8 million exploit after a flaw was found in its deposit and withdrawal infrastructure. The team said it had patched the vulnerability and pledged full compensation, though deposits and withdrawals across 11 blockchain networks faced a prolonged disruption.
Why this matters
The appointment comes as NEAR expands its private market features, including the Intents framework used to route trades and transactions across blockchains. Mumtaz's experience leading a major Solana infrastructure provider adds a cross-chain perspective to the council's governance.
What happens next
Mumtaz will begin judging the NEAR Hackathon starting November 1, running through November 14.
Sources
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