Near Protocol (NEAR), the native token of the layer-1 blockchain, has skyrocketed by over 100% in the past week, reaching its highest price since May 2022. This surge coincides with growing anticipation surrounding Nvidia’s (NVDA) annual conference and its potential connection to the future of AI on the Near Protocol.

Nvidia Conference and AI Focus Spark Investor Interest

• Near Protocol CEO to Speak at “Transforming AI” Panel: Illia Polosukhin, co-founder and CEO of Near, will be featured on a key panel titled “Transforming AI” at the upcoming Nvidia conference. This has fueled speculation about a potential collaboration between Near and Nvidia in the realm of artificial intelligence.
• Near Tasks and AI Integration: The upcoming release of Near Tasks, an AI-focused feature of the Near Protocol, has further bolstered investor confidence in the project’s connection to the burgeoning AI industry.
• Wider AI Market Rally: Gains in NEAR mirror a broader trend in the crypto AI market. Tokens like Fetch.ai (FET), The Graph (GRT), and SingularityNET (AGIX) have all seen significant increases over the past week.

Record High Bitcoin and Industry Optimism Add Momentum

• Bitcoin’s All-Time High: The recent record-breaking price of Bitcoin ($72,446) has created a positive sentiment across the entire cryptocurrency market, further propelling NEAR’s surge.
• Social Media Endorsement: The CEO of DeFiance Capital, a prominent crypto venture capital firm, expressed bullish sentiment on NEAR with a social media post proclaiming “the future is NEAR.” This sentiment likely contributed to the upward price movement.

From AI Research to High-Speed Blockchain

• NEAR’s Origins in Artificial Intelligence: While Near Protocol is now a leading blockchain platform, its roots lie in AI research. The team behind Near initially started as NEAR.AI in 2017, with Polosukhin’s background including work at Google Research on AI development.
• Technical Specifications: Near utilizes a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism called Nightshade, enabling it to handle roughly 100,000 transactions per second and process a block every second.

NEAR/USD Technical Analysis Suggests Further Growth Potential

• Breakout from Rounding Bottom Pattern: The NEAR price chart indicates a decisive breakout from a rounding bottom pattern, a bullish signal suggesting a potential climb to $11.2 if buyer momentum is sustained.
• Bollinger Bands and ADX: The widening Bollinger Bands and a high ADX slope on the Average Direction Trend indicator further reinforce the current dominance of buyers in the market.