NEAR Breakout Sparks 11% Surge as AI Narrative Fuels Rally

5h ago•

bullish:

bearish:

This article was first published on The Bit Journal. Near Protocol (NEAR) led the AI-crypto sector after posting an 11% gain within 24 hours, marking a decisive NEAR breakout that pushed the token into the list of the day’s top 10 trending assets. The demand was driven by traders being ahead of forecasted AI upgrades and ecosystem advancements.

NEAR had been moving sideways in a few sessions before the move, fluctuating between $0.94 and $1.09. Price advances had been repudiated in both levels several times and this indicated consolidation. That trend reversed with overnight strength in all the altcoins leading to a clean NEAR breakout, where the price could cross its predefined range.

NEAR Breakout Sweeps Liquidity Above Resistance

The four hour chart indicated that the structure was broken close to the price of $1.02 owing to strong purchasing power just below the zone. After the NEAR breakout, the token fastened towards $1.26 and carried away some $11.25 million in liquidity. The rally showed almost 30 percent improvement of the previous lows and then the price has found itself in a short term pullback.

Following the liquidity sweep, NEAR started to retrace to the break out level, which is a normal post NEAR breakout as the market begins to test previous resistance as support. An effective retest may present an opportunity to make another upswing, and the liquidity objectives may be observed within the range of $1.30-$1.35. The failure to retake the level would put the token into its previous consolidation.

NEAR Breakout Sweeps Liquidity Above Resistance

Bullish Sentiment Dominates NEAR Social Metrics

Bullish sentiment data was in favor of the bullish story. Social metrics indicated that NEAR was overwhelming the crypto conversation, and sentiment readings were on a high of 100%. To a large extent, this movement came after announcements in NEARCON 2026, in which the protocol itself proposed its vision of User-Owned AI.

Co-founder Illia Polosukhin stressed that the project is centered on the safety, privacy, and environmentally friendly economic reasons. The latest feature, which is called Confidential Intents, allows a private cross-chain transaction and safeguards users against MEV bots, frontrunning, and position exposure. These changes have provided bottom line support to the current NEAR breakout.

NEAR’s roadmap for the AI economy—straight from the source. NEAR Co-Founder @ilblackdragon on @therollupco podcast:

00:18 – NEAR as the unified commerce layer
05:29 – AI as the final frontend, converging with a blockchain backend
11:00 – Why user-owned AI matters
14:00 -… pic.twitter.com/1QXPfeb6Yt

— NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) February 25, 2026

NEAR Breakout Gains Support From AI Markets

The wider market conditions can also be playing a part. The focus has moved to AI-related crypto assets before Nvidia releases its next round of Q4 2025 earnings on February 26. Historically, good news in the chipmaker has led to rallies in markets that are AI-themed, which could further support NEAR in its recent breakout.

On-chain data also showed an increasing interest. During the last week, Near Intents recorded a volume of $442.1 million. As per Token Terminal, the protocol had registered a volume of 88.6 million in the past 24 hours, and monthly volumes remained up 11 percent, and fees increased by 10 percent.

NEAR Breakout Gains Support From AI Markets

Market Enthusiasm Outpaces Network Adoption

However, despite the bullish price and sentiment picture of the NEAR breakout, user activity gave an ambivalent picture. Monthly active users fell by 3 percent, with daily active users reducing by 8 percent, indicating that adoption growth remains not quite keeping pace with enthusiasm in the market.

Altogether, the NEAR breakdown indicates a combination of technical power, AI based fundamentals, and the increase in on-chain volume. The sustainability of the rally will probably be determined by the further use of the ecosystem and the performance of the larger AI-crypto market within the upcoming weeks.

Conclusion

In general, the NEAR breakout is an indication of a positive combination of robust technical movement, AI-driven fundamentals, and increased on-chain activity. Although the sentiment in the market is still positive, the slower adoption points to the risks. The long-term performance of the token will be determined by the involvement of the ecosystem and the overall performance of AI-specific crypto markets in the upcoming weeks.

Summary

NEAR breakout sparks 11% surge, hitting $1.26 and absorbing $11.25M liquidity.
Social sentiment peaks at 100%, driven by NEARCON 2026 and User-Owned AI.
On-chain activity rises, but monthly and daily users decline, highlighting adoption risks.