- NEAR Protocol strengthens its position as a cross-chain and AI-powered blockchain, with growing ecosystem activity across DeFi and infrastructure.
- Despite lower on-chain activity, NEAR’s DeFi sector and stablecoin adoption surged, reflecting deeper ecosystem engagement in Q3 2025.
NEAR Protocol’s Q3 2025 report revealed a surprising surge in several key sectors. Its market cap now stands at approximately $3.3 billion, a 24.3% increase compared to the previous quarter.
Amid Slower On-Chain Activity, DeFi Steals the Show
According to Messari, transaction volume processed through NEAR Intents reached $234.9 million from approximately 2.3 million swaps, confirming NEAR’s position as a strong player in the world of cross-chain interoperability.
However, amid this euphoria, on-chain activity slowed slightly. Average daily transactions fell to 4.7 million, a 14.2% decrease, and the number of daily active addresses decreased by 9.8% to approximately 2.9 million.
However, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector within the NEAR ecosystem was a standout performer. Trading volume on DEXs surged by more than 500% to an average of $76.7 million per day. Stablecoin capitalization also increased by 28% to $245 million, indicating a strong inflow of fresh funds.
NEAR Advances Toward Its AI and Interoperability Vision
Furthermore, NEAR’s performance improvement is not without reason. Last September, the CNF reported that NEAR Intents had risen to sixth place as the largest interoperability protocol in the global market.
Integration with TRON has also expanded its user base, enabling stablecoin exchanges between networks with a much simpler process. The user experience has also become more efficient, eliminating the need to manually switch wallets or networks. Can you imagine how complicated this feature would have been without it?
That same month, NEAR also surged in the crypto market, fueled by a combination of AI integration and the major Nightshade 2.0 update.
This update strengthened the network’s ability to manage cross-chain transaction load, while increasing throughput by approximately 12.5% thanks to the expansion from eight to nine shards.
With this system, NEAR is moving closer to its vision of becoming a “blockchain for AI,” where users and developers can run decentralized AI-powered applications at high speeds and low costs.
Not only that, but NEAR Intents is now at the heart of this ambition. This protocol allows users to execute cross-chain actions without technical barriers.
From asset swaps and staking to automated transaction execution by AI agents, everything can be done in a single, coordinated flow. This demonstrates that the concept of “chain abstraction” is truly coming to life on the NEAR network.
Furthermore, the rise in NEAR’s market cap amid slowing on-chain activity is an interesting one. Many analysts believe that investors are now placing more confidence in the direction of NEAR’s technological development than simply transaction volume. In other words, long-term trust appears to be superseding short-term speculation.
Bitwise even predicts that NEAR’s price could reach $155.85, a 7,000% increase, if the project’s roadmap is realized and NEAR becomes the centerpiece of the AI-native blockchain ecosystem.
However, this journey will certainly not be without challenges. Competition among other layer-1 projects like Solana and Avalanche remains fierce, and each technical upgrade carries its own risks.
Meanwhile, as of press time, NEAR is changing hands at about $2.82. Up 4.68% over the last 24 hours and 30.72% over the last 30 days.
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