Written by Nancy Lubale, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Allen Scott, Staff Editor.
Written by Nancy Lubale, Staff Writer.
Reviewed by Allen Scott, Staff Editor.
NEAR protocol leads AI token rally with a 50% pump: Is $5 NEAR price next?
MarketsPublishedMay 22, 2026
NEAR price surges 50% in a week as AI token momentum, Nvidia optimism and network upgrades fuel bullish sentiment.
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) displayed strength on Friday, rising 34% over the last 24 hours to $2.32, leading artificial intelligence-based tokens in a rally fueled by NEAR’s network upgrades and NVIDIA’s bullish revenue forecast.
NEAR is trading 50% higher than its price seven days ago and has gained a whopping 115% over the last 90 days.
Key takeaways:
- NEAR price surged 50% in seven days, hitting six-month highs as AI crypto tokens rallied on strong market momentum.
- NEAR Protocol upgrades focused on AI, privacy and scaling boosted investor confidence and trading volume above $1 billion.
- A breakout from a multi-year wedge pattern puts $5.75 in focus if NEAR clears resistance between $2.60 and $3.
NEAR price rallies to six-month highs
Data from TradingView shows that NEAR’s recovery began on Monday, rising 58% to a six-month high of $2.34 on Friday from a low of $1.48.
Accompanying NEAR’s price growth is an uptick in its trading volume, which has increased by 190% to $1.15 billion over the last 24 hours, reinforcing the intensity of the buyers.
NEAR/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
The altcoin’s jump above $2.30 triggered over $9.85 million in short liquidations, as those betting against the price were caught off guard.
The gains come after NEAR Protocol revealed of major upgrades focused on privacy, AI integration, and network scaling.
Source: X/NEAR Protocol
Aurora, the Ethereum-compatible scaling solution built on NEAR, also revealed the update of its Aurora Intents Widget. The update integrated ADI Chain as a new entry point, enabling smoother cross-chain swaps, deposits, and application flows for users.
Source: Aurora
These developments demonstrate ongoing technical progress within the NEAR Protocol ecosystem, potentially increasing demand for blockspace and the NEAR token.
NEAR price rallies as AI tokens recover
NEAR is not the only AI-themed token outperforming the crypto market today. Other cryptocurrencies in the AI sector have witnessed impressive 24-hour gains, including Grass (GRASS), OpenServe (SERVE) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), which have gained over 27%, 21% and 11% over the day, respectively.
Performance of top AI tokens by market capitalization. Source: CoinMarketCap
Notably, the surge in AI tokens has also been accompanied by an rise in their total market value. The market capitalization of AI and big data crypto projects and tokens has risen by 8% over the past 24 hours to $21.44 billion at the time of publication, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the sector.
Market capitalization and volume of AI and big data tokens market. Source: CoinMarketCap
Broader sector momentum was fueled by positive signals from Nvidia’s AI dominance and revenue forecasts. Nvidia, which maintains an 81–90% share of the AI accelerator market, reported massive profits of approximately $81.6 billion in Q1 2026 and raised its projected revenue opportunity through 2027 to $1 trillion.
Source: X/Cointelegraph
Historically, Nvidia events have triggered strong rallies in NEAR price, as seen in February when the altcoin soared 58% following the company’s Q4 2025 earnings report.
How high can NEAR price go?
NEAR’s latest rally saw it break out of a multi-year falling wedge that has capped the price since late 2024.
The NEAR/USD pair now faces stiff resistance at the $2.60-$3.0 supply zone, where major moving averages sit, as shown on the weekly chart below.
A break above this level would clear the path toward the measured target of the wedge at $5.75, roughly 160% above the current price. The relative strength index has increased to 63, indicating increasing upward momentum.
NEAR/USD weekly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
In an X post on Tuesday, MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe stated NEAR is displaying “one of the most bullish charts” in the market, adding that a continuation was in the cards as long as it held $1.40 as support.
“The first real resistance zones for $NEAR are at $2 and $2.25-$2.50,” Van de Poppe stated in a follow-up post on Thursday, adding “it’s clearly trending higher,” with the next target near $2.75.
NEAR/USD daily chart. Source: X/Michael van de Poppe
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
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