TLDR
- NEAR Protocol price rose 6% after Bitwise CEO Matt Hougan called it a rare combination of an active business and AI upside.
- NEAR Intents has processed more than $30 billion in total volume since launch.
- NEAR climbed 122% in 30 days, far outpacing Bitcoin’s 8% gain over the same period.
- NEAR trades near $5.38, still about 75% below its January 2022 high of $20.44.
- Analyst Michaël van de Poppe says the price structure looks bullish for another breakout.
NEAR Protocol jumped 6% after Bitwise CEO Matt Hougan pointed to the network’s growing AI-agent business. The token reached $5.38, extending a rally that has pushed it up more than 130% over the past month.
Hougan said advisers often ask which smaller crypto assets could grow into something much bigger. He said he usually treats these questions with caution, since most such bets rest on future expectations alone.
NEAR is different, according to Hougan, because it already runs an active business. NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain trading system, has processed over $30 billion in cumulative volume.
— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 7, 2026
Thirty-day Intents volume passed $4 billion, up 896% from a year earlier. Revenue over the same period topped $2 million, a 512% increase year-over-year.
The growth followed Bitwise’s launch of its first U.S. spot NEAR ETF. The fund gives investors regulated access to NEAR and includes staking rewards.
How NEAR Intents Works
NEAR Intents lets users or AI agents state what outcome they want. A network of bots called solvers then handles the execution across different blockchains.
Bitwise described this setup as a flywheel. More AI agents using the system could drive more Intents activity, which in turn creates more demand for settlement on NEAR.
The network has also expanded into tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through a partnership with Ondo Finance. That integration uses NEAR Intents to give cross-chain access to those tokenized assets.
Trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe weighed in on the token’s chart setup. He said he expects another bullish breakout for $NEAR, calling the current price structure bullish, and added that he would look to buy a dip if the price sweeps recent lows first.
Quite honestly, I do think we'll see another bullish breakout on $NEAR taking place.
Pretty bullish price structure if you'd ask me.
However, if this sweeps the lows, I think I'd be eager to be buying the dip on this one. pic.twitter.com/kBb3icVixz
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 7, 2026
Price History and Supply
NEAR’s 122% monthly gain dwarfs Bitcoin’s 8% and Ethereum’s 11% over the same stretch. Solana rose 18% in that window, while Sui and Arbitrum posted gains of 58% and 55%.
No single announcement, upgrade, or listing explains the surge. Fund-flow data has not pointed to a specific cause either.
In May, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes named NEAR among his top speculative picks, citing “20x potential” alongside Zcash and Hyperliquid. NEAR traded around $3 at the time.
Despite the rally, NEAR still sits about 75% below its all-time high of $20.44, set in January 2022. Some holders from that peak may sell as the price rises, which could slow further gains.
NEAR has no maximum supply cap, unlike Bitcoin. New coins continue entering circulation, which can dilute value unless price gains outpace new issuance.
As of October 7, NEAR’s market value stood at roughly $6.8 billion, with about 1.31 billion coins in circulation. The token was trading at $5.19 that day, up 6.4% over the prior week, while Bitcoin rose 1.4% and Ethereum fell 1.8%.
