Near Protocol [NEAR] led the AI sector after surging 11% in 24 hours as of press time. The altcoin also made it into the list of the top 10 trending tokens of the day as traders anticipated upcoming AI updates.
The charts showed that the altcoin was in a sideways market where it was bouncing between $0.946 and $1.095. Each of the two levels had rejected price advances three times. However, the upper resistance could not contain the overnight strength in altcoins.
The 4-hour chart showed the Break of Structure (BOS) happened at $1.028 after massive buying just below this level. This resulted in the price hitting $1.26, where it picked up liquidity worth $11.253 million.
After the liquidity sweep, which was 30% up from the low at $0.963, NEAR embarked on a pullback toward the liquidity above the range.
NEAR was now retesting the breakout, and confirmation could propel it toward liquidity between the $1.30 and $1.35 zone. Otherwise, the price may revert to the consolidation area.
Sentiment analysis affirmed how NEAR was trending on social media. The sentiment percentage was ticking strongly to the upside, with the reading at 100%. But what was behind the spike in social dominance?
One of the key drivers of the social media sentiment was the unveiling of ‘User-Owned AI’ for the ecosystem at NEARCON 2026. The co-founder of NEAR, Illia Polosukhin, stressed that this was important for safety and economic purposes.
The added layer, referred to as “Confidential Intents,” allowed users to make private cross-chain transactions.
Furthermore, it protected against MEV bots, frontrunning, and position exposure. This meant that NEAR was expanding into an agent-driven market while ensuring the privacy of participants.
Meanwhile, attention has also turned to AI‑related cryptos, as Nvidia prepares to release its Q4 2025 earnings on February 26. In past instances, positive earnings reports have triggered sharp rallies in the sector.
With anticipation running high, NEAR could strengthen its position as a leader in the AI‑crypto space.
Meanwhile, this surge in fundamentals spilled over to token trading volume. Over the past week, Near Intents saw a total of $442.1 million in volume.
The highest volume in the last 24 hours, according to Token Terminal, was $88.628 million. The monthly volume experienced an 11% increase, while fees experienced a 10% surge.
Altogether, the metrics were pointing toward bullish action. However, a decrease in monthly and daily active users by 3% and 8%, respectively, did not rhyme with the current sentiment.
