**GM protocol community,** Join us for the 9th NEAR Protocol Work Group call on Friday April 26th 2024, where the work group will vote on NEP-536 and NEP-540. Here's a preview: 🗓[Add to calendar](https://bit.ly/protocol-wg-call-9) 👉[NEP-540](https://github.com/near/NEPs/issues/540) addresses the pressing issue of the storage staking mechanism's inefficiency and the significant increase in costs due to the rise in NEAR token price. 👉While [NEP-536](https://github.com/near/NEPs/pull/536) seeks to enhance protocol efficiency by reducing the number of gas refund receipts and optimizing gas usage within the Near ecosystem. These NEP's are in the final comment period. Dive into the technical details in the GitHub discussion and join the call to learn about the final decision!