The sharp price move is partly attributable to capital rotation after months of Bitcoin absorbing most available liquidity, according to Sammi Li, CEO of crypto exchange Ju.com. NEAR has become "one of the more obvious beneficiaries" as money moves into large-cap alts, Li told Decrypt, adding that the project's longstanding positioning around AI makes it a natural candidate when the market seeks AI-related exposure.
Three NEAR Protocol upgradesThe rally reflects a concentrated product push across three fronts: confidential on-chain treasuries, AI prompt privacy, and automatic network scaling—positioning NEAR as a potential settlement layer for AI agents and confidential finance.
NEAR Co-founder Illia Polosukhin has been actively promoting the upgrades on social media, tying the developments directly to what he calls the coming "agentic market" where specialized AI agents compete on outcomes via intents.
Confidential inference means you have end-to-end encryption with nobody else getting access to your prompts. But this only works on open weight models (for now).
Li cautioned that price can move "much faster than fundamentals" once momentum kicks in, describing part of the rally as narrative-driven and part as traders chasing strength. But she views the persistent caution as constructive: sentiment has stayed cautious even while the market improves, which she said is "usually not a bad sign."
Looking ahead, Li does not expect all altcoins to run together. Capital will likely remain concentrated in projects with strong narratives and real ecosystems, she said, noting the market is "much more selective than previous cycles." If Bitcoin holds steady, she sees room for quality altcoins to outperform over the next few months—a move that "often starts when people are still skeptical."
