Institute Home May 2026

How NEAR Got its Groove Back

The NEAR token surged about 115% in May, making it the best performing asset in our Crypto Sectors framework during that time (Exhibit 1). Why? Two words: privacy and AI.

The Near blockchain—which has been around since 2020—has found renewed momentum by developing products and solutions that build at the intersection of privacy and artificial intelligence, as well as an improved supply/demand balance for its tokens. More specifically:

Near “Intents” product/market fit. Near Intents works like an AI agent for blockchain transactions. Users can request virtually any transaction (express their “intent”) without worrying exactly how it will be executed—the Near ecosystem takes care of the details. The tool has been hugely popular with users and has processed more than 25 million swaps worth nearly $20 billion¹ since its launch in Q1 2025.
Private AI agent infrastructure. AI agents need privacy tools as they are integrated more deeply into corporate workflows. To address this, Near has built IronClaw, an AI agent framework integrated with Near AI’s confidential inference infrastructure. This enables AI agents to securely execute tasks while ensuring that underlying data, credentials, and user activity remain private.
Improved NEAR tokenomics. Recent changes have improved the supply/demand balance for NEAR tokens. In October 2025, the Near community agreed to cut the network’s annual inflation rate in half, from 5% to 2.5%.² Then in February 2026, it updated the network’s revenue model to provide continuous distributions denominated in NEAR (which are visible on Near’s revenue dashboard).³

With these building blocks, Near is aiming to create the core infrastructure for agentic commerce—a platform that enables AI agents to seamlessly coordinate economic transactions while underlying users maintain ownership of their data, assets, and identity.

Key Takeaway: The NEAR token had a strong showing in May as crypto markets began to recognize the project’s improved fundamentals. We expect Near to play a key role in AI agent commerce, which could drive more value to its native token.

Exhibit 1: The NEAR token enjoyed strong performance in May

¹ Source: Dune Analytics. Data as of May 28, 2026. Intents can now be fully private.

² Source: Near Foundation.

³ Source: Near.org.

Investments in digital assets are speculative investments that involve significant risk, including a partial or total loss of invested funds. Investments in digital assets are not suitable for any investor that cannot afford loss of the entire investment.

This information should not be relied upon as research, legal, tax or investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any investment in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. This content does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal. There is not enough information contained in this content to make an investment decision and any information contained herein should not be used as a basis for this purpose. Readers are encouraged to seek guidance from qualified professionals. 

IMPORTANT: By signing up for a Grayscale event, you acknowledge that your participation, including any travel, lodging, or meals paid for by Grayscale, complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies, whether in the United States or abroad. You also confirm that you have completed any required disclosures, obtained necessary approvals, and will meet any reporting obligations related to your attendance.  

Grayscale and its employees may hold certain of the digital assets mentioned herein.

Certain of the statements contained herein may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on Grayscale’s views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. In addition to statements that are forward-looking by reason of context, the words “may, will, should, could, can, expects, plans, intends, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential, projected, or continue” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Grayscale assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein and you should not place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Although Grayscale has taken reasonable care to ensure that the information contained herein is accurate, no representation or warranty (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made by Grayscale as to its accuracy, reliability, or completeness. You should not make any investment decisions based on these estimates and forward-looking statements.

Specific companies, issuers, platforms, or protocols are mentioned for educational purposes only and should not be deemed a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, digital assets, or other financial instruments. Any entities mentioned do not necessarily represent current or future holdings of any Grayscale products. 

All content is original and has been researched and produced by Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC (“Grayscale”) unless otherwise stated herein. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without the express consent of Grayscale. 

© Grayscale. All trademarks, service marks and/or trade names (e.g., G™, GRAYSCALE®, GRAYSCALE CRYPTO SECTORS™, and GRAYSCALE INVESTMENTS®) are owned and/or registered by Grayscale.