NEAR Protocol news

Grayscale filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC to convert its NEAR Protocol Trust into an exchange‑traded fund that would trade on NYSE Arca. The trust, which holds fractional NEAR token ownership, currently has $900 k AUM and a NAV per share of $2.19, down 45% from launch. Grayscale has followed the same path with other assets, moving from private trust to OTC and now to an ETF.

NEAR Intents, a multichain protocol on NEAR, hit record metrics in November with daily fee revenue topping $400,000, cumulative fees over $10 million and daily trading volume exceeding $150 million—ten times the previous quarter. A Bitwise analysis projects weekly volume to jump more than tenfold, reaching $10 billion by June 2026, boosting NEAR’s token value through AI‑native activity. Despite these gains, NEAR’s price remains trapped in its 2025 accumulation zone, trading between $1.90 and $3.10. Bitcoin’s decline may press altcoins harder, with analysts warning a drop to $0.60 if Bitcoin falls to $84,000, yet the current $1.90 level sits on strong support and could set the stage for a rebound.

OceanPal Inc. raised $120 million via a private equity deal to fund SovereignAI Services LLC, which will acquire at least 10 % of NEAR Protocol’s token supply as part of the company’s digital‑asset strategy. Shares fell nearly 21 % on the announcement, closing at $1.74—a 20.9 % drop—despite the funding; the stock is 94 % down year‑to‑date. Revenue fell 54 % to $3.08 million and net loss reached $5.22 million; NEAR’s token also slid to $2.24, underscoring the uncertainty of OceanPal’s blockchain‑AI pivot.

OceanPal Inc. announced a $120M private investment in public equity to launch SovereignAI, a subsidiary focused on commercializing the NEAR Protocol and developing AI infrastructure. The new unit will pursue a crypto treasury strategy, aiming to acquire up to 10% of the NEAR token supply, partnering with the NEAR Foundation. The announcement also marked a leadership shakeup, appointing former State Street executive Sal Ternullo as co‑CEO and BNY Mellon veteran David Schwed as COO. NEAR Foundation co‑founder Illia Polosukhin joined SovereignAI’s advisory board alongside OpenAI’s Lukasz Kaiser.

The move is backed by investors including Kraken and Fabric Ventures, and OceanPal's shipping business will continue to operate separately.

OceanPal Inc., a Nasdaq‑listed shipping firm, closed a $120 million private investment in public equity to launch SovereignAI Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary that will build digital‑asset and AI infrastructure in partnership with the NEAR Foundation. The capital will fund a blockchain‑native digital‑asset treasury on NEAR Protocol and a confidential AI cloud platform that combines NEAR and Nvidia technologies. SovereignAI plans to acquire at least 10 % of the NEAR token supply and position itself as a public investment vehicle offering exposure to NEAR and AI infrastructure. Investors include Kraken, Proximity, Fabric Ventures, G20 Group and the NEAR Foundation, whose advisory board features co‑founder Illia Polosukhin, Richard Muirhead, Lukasz Kaiser, Philippe Sachs, Andy Brown and Jackie Kennedy. OceanPal will keep its core shipping operations while diversifying into blockchain and AI.

NEAR Protocol introduced NEAR Intents, a standard that allows low-cost, large stable-coin swaps across chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Tron, Ton and Layer-2s, aiming to become a unified liquidity layer and potentially raising the token’s value through fee capture. Analysts note a long-term accumulation phase; a break above the $3.25-$3.50 resistance could spark a breakout toward $4.78 or a $10.82 target. Institutional confidence is shown by Grayscale holdings and NEAR topping monthly active users, yet the price remains 37% lower YTD, awaiting clear liquidity confirmation.

The Near Foundation is developing AI‑powered “digital twin” delegates to vote on behalf of DAO members, aiming to curb low participation that plagues many crypto protocols. The system would learn a user’s preferences through voting history and social media activity, then automatically vote or nudge the user on relevant proposals. While the delegates are intended to streamline governance, the foundation stresses a human‑in‑the‑loop for critical decisions such as fund allocation. Early models resemble chatbots that summarize sentiment and offer guidance, with phased rollout from group representation to individual delegates.

NEAR Protocol saw heightened volatility in the 24 hours ending August 14 at 14:00 UTC, with prices fluctuating between $2.78 and $3.05 before settling at $2.82.

NEAR Protocol experienced strong upward momentum between 12 August 16:00 and 13 August 15:00, climbing from $2.75 to $2.91 for a 5.82% gain on trading volumes exceeding $7.6 million. Institutional inflows played a key role, with the cryptocurrency breaking multiple resistance levels and establishing firm support at $2.76.