NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is making a strong comeback in the crypto world, largely thanks to its growing ecosystem and focus on AI-driven features. With current prices around $2.67 and a circulating supply of about 1.28 billion tokens, NEAR is climbing back into the spotlight. In early November, the token surged by 20-38%, pushing its market cap close to $3.6 billion, fueled by the rising buzz around AI and blockchain integration.

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on NEAR, like Ref Finance, have seen a major boost as global DeFi activity reaches new highs. In October 2025 alone, global DEX trading volume hit a record $1.36 trillion. NEAR’s on-chain trading volume doubled its daily all-time high to $200 million in early November. This spike was powered by new liquidity tools that use intent-based models to make trading faster and easier.

Stablecoins on NEAR—like USN and bridged versions of USDC and USDT—are also expanding rapidly. This growth follows a global trend where stablecoin usage has increased by 2-10x since 2020. Non-USD stablecoins are up 30%, largely because of instability in the U.S. dollar due to changes in tariff policies.

NEAR saw a massive 533% quarter-over-quarter jump in activity, thanks to its shift toward “intent-based” transactions. These make DeFi trading smoother and more user-friendly. This innovation helped drive record levels of activity, including the integration of privacy tools like Zcash and increased interest in AI infrastructure tokens like NEAR, especially as Bitcoin and Ethereum saw price dips.

A 28% increase in stablecoin usage on NEAR shows that it’s becoming a key platform for high-speed transactions needed by AI applications and decentralized apps (dApps). Stablecoins allow easy movement between traditional (Web2) and blockchain (Web3) systems. NEAR’s strong AI roots—its founders helped write the original transformer paper behind modern AI models—add to its appeal.

Even with global financial challenges—like over $500 billion pulled from bank reserves since July—NEAR still posted a 24% quarterly gain, outperforming the overall crypto market, which dropped by 8.8%. AI trends, developer rewards, and fast onboarding tools like Halliday are helping attract more users.

Looking ahead, NEAR’s growth could continue if DeFi trading volumes stay strong. Forecasts suggest DEX volumes might top $1.3 trillion in Q4. Price predictions for NEAR in late 2025 range between $1.90 and $2.30, though shifts in regulations—such as the U.S. GENIUS Act targeting stablecoins—and competition from other platforms like Solana and Tron may affect this outlook.

One of NEAR’s standout features is its new “Intents” system—a much simpler way to do blockchain transactions. Instead of writing complex scripts to swap tokens or use bridges and DEXs, users just say what they want to do (for example, “swap 10 USDC for the best ETH price”), and the network handles the rest.

Here’s how it works: users create a signed message with their intent (e.g., swap token A for token B). This message gets posted to an intent pool, like a job board. Specialized bots called “solvers” race to find the best way to complete that task using various DeFi tools. The best solution gets executed—all in one gasless transaction for the user.

Users don’t even need a NEAR wallet to start. They can sign intents with any type of key—like a regular wallet, passkey, or multi-party computation (MPC). NEAR can also process transactions for other blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Solana using cross-chain tech like MPC-TSS.

These solvers front the gas fees and get paid in the token users receive (like ETH), not in NEAR tokens. Intents can also go through privacy layers like Zcash or MEV-protected systems like Nightshade sharding.

In short, NEAR Intents make crypto feel more like using Uber: you just say what you want, and the system figures out the best way to get it done quickly and securely. It’s a big step toward making DeFi accessible for everyone—from beginners to advanced users—and opens the door for seamless cross-chain interactions powered by AI agents and high-speed infrastructure.

With its strong AI foundation, growing DeFi tools, and user-friendly design, NEAR is positioning itself as a major player in the next wave of blockchain evolution.