NEAR Protocol Faces Mixed Signals Amid Institutional Validation and Market Pressure
Grayscale filed for a NEAR ETF on January 23, 2026, signaling growing institutional demand for regulated exposure to the asset. Grayscale filed with the SEC on January 20, 2026, to convert its Grayscale NEAR Trust (GSNR) into a spot ETF listed on NYSE Arca. This represents a significant step toward regulated, mainstream investment access, which could improve liquidity and attract long-term capital.
However, broader sector caution contributed to recent market pressure on January 24, 2026, as an AI bubble warning hit NEAR sentiment. The token currently trades at $1.07, reflecting recent volatility despite positive fundamental developments.
AI Agent Market and Cross-Chain Infrastructure Expansion
On February 5, 2026, NEAR Protocol introduced the NEAR AI Agent Market, a decentralized marketplace where AI agents can transact with economic agency powered by NEAR Intents. This launch represents a critical milestone in NEAR's vision of user-owned AI infrastructure.
NEAR Intents achieved a significant milestone by reaching $10 billion in total swap volume, processing over 15.7 million swaps since its launch, generating $17 million in fee revenue. The protocol integrated 28 chains and was recognized as the "fastest-growing cross-chain infrastructure" in 2025.
2026 Roadmap and Technical Achievements
NEAR Protocol sets 2026 priorities around AI-Intents convergence, user-owned AI, and expanding NEAR Intents into a top trading platform. The protocol reached a major technical benchmark, hitting one million transactions per second (TPS) in a public test using live core code and accessible hardware.
NEAR is exploring a new governance model called the "House of Stake," which will blend community participation with support from intelligent digital agents capable of representing user intent, moving beyond binary voting by enabling more context-aware decision-making.
AI Infrastructure and Privacy Focus
The NEAR Foundation introduced NEAR AI Cloud and Private Chat, which enhance AI interaction while protecting user data through verifiable privacy, and are already integrated into Brave Nightly, OpenMind AGI, and Phala Network applications, reaching over 100 million users.
Market Performance
The 2026 roadmap release and a gradual market upturn in recent days have boosted the NEAR price, with the token trading over 8% higher from its intraday low at $1.63 in the last 24 hours. The key immediate metric to watch is whether NEAR can achieve a daily close above the $2.00–$2.30 resistance zone to shift the technical narrative.