NEAR Jumps 30% After Arthur Hayes Endorsement Fuels AI Narrative
NEAR Protocol surged more than 30% this week, sharply outperforming a largely flat Bitcoin market after BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes described NEAR, Hyperliquid and Zcash as the crypto market’s new “holy trinity.”
Summary:
- NEAR surged 30% after Arthur Hayes backed the token publicly.
- More than $5.8 million in short positions were liquidated.
- NVIDIA’s “agentic AI” narrative accelerated capital rotation into NEAR.
The rally pushed NEAR to a six-month high near $2.32 before momentum cooled slightly during Thursday trading. Analysts said the move was driven by far more than social-media hype, with institutional inflows, AI-driven narratives, derivatives liquidations and upcoming protocol upgrades all converging at once.
AI Narrative Ignites Institutional Interest
The broader catalyst behind NEAR’s breakout began earlier this week following NVIDIA’s blockbuster earnings report.
The chip giant reported an 85% year-over-year revenue increase, while CEO Jensen Huang declared during the earnings call that “agentic AI has arrived.”
That phrase immediately reignited interest across AI-linked crypto projects, but NEAR emerged as one of the market’s strongest beneficiaries due to its unusually deep ties to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin previously co-authored the landmark “Transformers” research paper that helped lay the foundation for modern generative AI systems.
Over recent months, the NEAR ecosystem has increasingly positioned itself as blockchain infrastructure for autonomous AI agents capable of executing on-chain financial activity, managing liquidity and interacting with decentralized applications independently.
Analysts said that narrative has become especially attractive as institutional investors search for crypto projects tied directly to long-term AI monetization themes rather than speculative meme-driven trading.
The result was a rapid capital rotation into NEAR following NVIDIA’s earnings release.
Massive Short Squeeze Accelerates Rally
While the AI narrative attracted buyers, derivatives positioning appears to have dramatically amplified the speed of the move.
Before the breakout, NEAR had spent several months trapped inside a prolonged descending channel. As momentum accelerated above the key $1.60 and $1.72 resistance zones, bearish traders were caught heavily offsides.
According to Coinglass liquidation data, roughly $6.1 million worth of NEAR derivatives positions were wiped out over a 24-hour period.
Importantly, approximately $5.8 million of those liquidations came from short sellers alone.
That forced liquidation cascade effectively created automatic market buy orders as exchanges closed underwater short positions, intensifying upside momentum and accelerating the rally toward multi-month highs.
The technical structure reflects that exhaustion phase beginning to emerge.
READ MORE: XRP Analysis: Price Tests Crucial Support After the Correction
NEAR currently trades near $2.13 after briefly touching $2.32 earlier in the session. Momentum indicators have started cooling after the parabolic breakout phase.
The five-minute RSI recently slipped toward 38 after previously spending extended periods near overbought territory above 70.
Meanwhile, the MACD histogram has started flattening into slightly negative territory, suggesting short-term momentum is slowing even as the broader trend remains constructive.
Analysts said the $2.05–$2.10 region now represents an important near-term support zone, while bulls continue targeting a sustained breakout above the recent $2.30 high.
Institutions Quietly Rotate Into NEAR Products
The rally has also coincided with growing institutional demand.
On-chain analysts noted that crypto asset manager Bitwise recently reported significant inflows into its NEAR-related exchange-traded products, signaling rising institutional exposure to the ecosystem.
Analysts additionally pointed to NEAR’s valuation metrics, which many investors increasingly view as relatively inexpensive compared to competing Layer-1 ecosystems.
NEAR currently trades at substantially lower annualized fee multiples than several rival blockchain networks, while the protocol’s burn-and-buyback mechanisms continue gradually reducing inflation pressure over time.
That combination of improving tokenomics and expanding AI narratives has helped position NEAR as one of the stronger-performing alternative Layer-1 assets during May.
June Upgrade Becomes Next Major Catalyst
Another key driver behind the rally is growing anticipation surrounding NEAR’s upcoming June infrastructure upgrade.
The protocol is preparing to roll out dynamic resharding technology, designed to automatically adjust network capacity in real time as user activity fluctuates.
The system aims to significantly improve scalability efficiency while reducing congestion risks during periods of elevated transaction demand.
At the same time, the ecosystem is preparing a broader expansion into confidential transaction infrastructure and zero-knowledge privacy tooling.
Those themes closely align with Arthur Hayes’ recent investment thesis emphasizing privacy-preserving infrastructure and scalable blockchain settlement systems as major long-term growth areas.
Analysts said traders are increasingly positioning ahead of the June rollout in expectation that successful execution could materially strengthen NEAR’s standing among AI-focused and enterprise blockchain ecosystems.
NEAR Emerges as One of Crypto’s Strongest AI Trades
While Arthur Hayes’ public endorsement provided the immediate spark, the foundations for NEAR’s rally had already been building for weeks.
Institutional inflows, improving tokenomics, AI infrastructure narratives, major derivatives imbalances and upcoming protocol upgrades collectively created conditions for one of the sharpest altcoin rallies of May 2026.
The move also highlights a broader trend developing across crypto markets: investors are increasingly rotating toward blockchain ecosystems tied to real-world infrastructure narratives such as artificial intelligence, institutional finance and scalable settlement layers.
Analysts said that if the AI narrative continues accelerating globally, NEAR may increasingly position itself not simply as another Layer-1 blockchain, but as one of the primary financial infrastructure layers for autonomous AI-driven economies.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 10,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
