- NEAR Protocol rose about 10.4% to $1.68, driven by strong trading activity and renewed interest in its AI-focused blockchain narrative.
- Its market cap climbed to $2.18 billion as traders watched whether it could hold above the key $2 billion level.
NEAR Protocol recorded a strong move in the last 24 hours, gaining about 10.4% against the US dollar. The token traded near $1.68 on May 13, 2026. The move placed it among the top trending assets on CoinGecko during the session. Activity picked up across both price and trading volume, suggesting renewed interest in the asset.
Price and trading activity
NEAR reached a market capitalization of around $2.18 billion. This placed it at rank 44 among tracked crypto assets. Daily trading volume stood at approximately $393.7 million. The volume-to-market-cap ratio came in near 18%, a level that points to active rotation into the token.
NEAR showed broad strength across major trading pairs. It gained about 10.7% against Solana (SOL) in 24 hours. It also rose roughly 10.7% against Ethereum (ETH) over the same period. These moves suggest the rally was not isolated to dollar trading pairs. Instead, demand increased across the wider crypto market.
AI-focused blockchain narrative
NEAR Protocol is a layer-1 blockchain built with a focus on artificial intelligence applications. It uses a sharded design to support high throughput and low fees. Its “Intents” system allows users to define goals instead of transaction steps. The Chain Abstraction layer also routes actions across multiple blockchains without exposing complexity.
The protocol promotes the idea of user-owned AI. This refers to on-chain agents designed to act in the interest of the wallet holder. These features continue to support NEAR’s position in AI-focused crypto discussions.
Market cap level in focus
The $2.18 billion valuation places NEAR near a key psychological level. Prior attempts to hold above $2 billion in 2025 were short-lived. A sustained close above this level could signal stronger market confidence. Traders are watching whether this level can hold into the week’s close.
Daily volume above $300 million for several days would further support the case for stable demand. Current data shows strong activity, but no new catalyst was identified behind the move.
NEAR remains well below its previous all-time high from 2021. However, it has recovered meaningfully from lows seen in late 2024. Interest in AI-linked blockchain projects continues across the market in 2026. NEAR’s long-standing focus on this narrative keeps it in active rotation during sector rallies.
For now, traders are watching whether current demand develops into a sustained trend or fades after the recent spike.
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