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NEAR Token Drops

Let's start with the simplest drop type: native NEAR tokens. This will teach you the core concepts before we move to more complex token types.

Project Setup​

First, create a new Rust project:

cargo near new near-drop --contract
cd near-drop

Update Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
near-sdk = { version = "5.1.0", features = ["unstable"] }
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }

Basic Contract Structure​

Let's start with the main contract in src/lib.rs:

Contract Initialization​

Creating NEAR Drops​

The main function everyone will use:

Claiming Tokens​

Now for the claiming logic in src/claim.rs:

Core claiming logic:

Helper Functions​

Add some useful view functions:

Build and Test​

# Build the contract
cargo near build

# Create test account
near create-account drop-test.testnet --useFaucet

# Deploy
near deploy drop-test.testnet target/near/near_drop.wasm

# Initialize
near call drop-test.testnet new '{"top_level_account": "testnet"}' --accountId drop-test.testnet

Create Your First Drop​

# Create a drop with 2 NEAR per claim for 2 recipients
near call drop-test.testnet create_near_drop '{
  "public_keys": [
    "ed25519:HcwvxZXSCX341Pe4vo9FLTzoRab9N8MWGZ2isxZjk1b8",
    "ed25519:5oN7Yk7FKQMKpuP4aroWgNoFfVDLnY3zmRnqYk9fuEvR"
  ],
  "amount_per_drop": "2000000000000000000000000"
}' --accountId drop-test.testnet --deposit 5

Claim Tokens​

Recipients can now claim using their private keys:

# Claim to existing account
near call drop-test.testnet claim_for '{"account_id": "alice.testnet"}' \
  --accountId drop-test.testnet \
  --keyPair <private-key-here>

# Or create new account and claim
near call drop-test.testnet create_account_and_claim '{"account_id": "bob-new.testnet"}' \
  --accountId drop-test.testnet \
  --keyPair <private-key-here>

What You've Built​

Congratulations! You now have:

✅ NEAR token distribution system ✅ Gasless claiming with function-call keys
✅ Account creation for new users ✅ Automatic cleanup after claims ✅ Cost estimation for creating drops

The foundation is solid. Next, let's add support for fungible tokens, which involves cross-contract calls and is a bit more complex.

Continue to Fungible Token Drops →

Quick Test

Try creating a small drop and claiming it yourself to make sure everything works before moving on!