NEAR Rallies 50% After Upgrades and Nvidia Forecast

NEAR Protocol led gains among AI-focused crypto tokens on Friday, rising 34% in 24 hours to $2.32 and about 50% over the past seven days. The price move pushed NEAR to a six-month high and coincided with heavier trading activity.

Market data show NEAR climbed from around $1.48 earlier in the week to highs above $2.30. Twenty-four-hour trading volume rose roughly 190% to about $1.15 billion, and more than $9.8 million in short positions were liquidated as prices moved higher. Over a 90-day period, NEAR has gained about 115%.

Developers released protocol upgrades focused on privacy features, AI integration and network scaling. The Aurora layer, an Ethereum-compatible scaling solution on NEAR, updated its Intents Widget to add ADI Chain as an entry point, which the team said will smooth cross-chain swaps, deposits and application flows.

Other tokens linked to artificial intelligence and big data also advanced. Smaller projects posted double-digit gains over 24 hours, and the combined market capitalization of AI and big data crypto projects rose about 8% to roughly $21.44 billion. Grass, OpenServe and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance recorded notable daily increases in that period.

Nvidia reported strong first-quarter results and expanded its revenue projections through 2027. The company reported roughly $81.6 billion in first-quarter revenue and outlined a larger revenue opportunity through 2027; those figures coincided with renewed investor interest in AI-related assets.

Technical indicators showed NEAR breaking out of a multi-year falling wedge that had capped the token since late 2024. The price now faces resistance in a $2.60 to $3.00 zone where key moving averages converge. A decisive move above that area would put a measured upside target near $5.75. The relative strength index moved into bullish territory, near the low 60s.

Market commentator Michael van de Poppe wrote on X that NEAR displayed one of the more bullish charts in the market and that the trend would remain constructive while it held support around $1.40. He pointed to initial resistance near $2 and a follow-up band around $2.25 to $2.50, with a nearer-term target near $2.75.