NEAR Protocol surges 50% in 7 days, leads AI token rally

NEAR Protocol’s native token climbed roughly 50% over seven days, hitting $2.34 and notching a six-month high. The move puts NEAR at the front of a broader rally across AI-themed crypto tokens.

Trading volumes peaked above $1 billion during the hottest days of the surge, and short liquidations exceeded $9 million.

What’s driving the move

Positive sentiment around Nvidia’s revenue outlook sent a wave of enthusiasm through AI-adjacent tokens. FET and WLD both posted double-digit gains during the same window, but NEAR outpaced them all.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes named NEAR as part of his “holy trinity” of altcoins, alongside HYPE and ZEC.

The upcoming v2.13 network upgrade is scheduled for June 2026. The upgrade will introduce dynamic resharding, a feature that allows the network to automatically scale by adding or removing shards based on demand. The same upgrade also includes post-quantum cryptographic features designed to protect the network against the theoretical threat of quantum computers breaking current encryption standards.

NEAR’s AI pivot is getting specific

The protocol is rolling out tools specifically designed for AI-related transactions. These include confidential treasuries, essentially private vaults for AI agents managing funds, and privacy features built around AI prompts.

The cumulative 90-day gain for NEAR sits at approximately 115%.

Inflows into related investment products like the Bitwise Near Staking ETP have increased as the token moved higher.

What this means for investors

Market observers have noted potential resistance levels forming in the $3 to $5 range if the current momentum continues. That would represent another 28% to 114% upside from the $2.34 level.

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