NEAR Protocol Is Quietly Building the AI-Powered Internet of the Future

Move over Ethereum. NEAR just stepped into the AI arena — and it's gunning for the future of digital intelligence.

Forget chatbots and robo-advisors. We're talking blockchain-level AI — decentralized, permissionless, and built to serve people, not platforms. According to Grayscale’s latest report, NEAR Protocol is now the No. 2 AI crypto project by market cap (3.5B), right behind Bittensor. But this isn’t about price. It’s about purpose.

NEAR’s transformation from an Ethereum competitor to a decentralized AI infrastructure is one of the most slept-on glow-ups in Web3 — and it might just be the foundation for the next phase of the internet.

🧠 From Smart Contracts to Smart Agents

NEAR isn’t just building another blockchain. It’s designing a digital backbone where AI can operate with autonomy, transparency, and human alignment.

• Modular by design
• Built for AI-native agents that can transact, coordinate, and evolve
• Handles identity, trust, and data with on-chain integrity

While most chains are scrambling to bolt AI on top, NEAR is rebuilding the entire stack for intent-based computing. Here, AI doesn’t just run. It thinks — and it acts for you.

🔮 NEAR's AI Manifesto: People Over Platforms

The future NEAR envisions? An open AI economy where value flows back to users — not Big Tech.

“AI that serves humans. Agents that act with purpose. Infrastructure that respects intent.”

It’s not just buzzwords. The protocol is already powering AI-driven dApps, decentralized AI training, and secure data coordination across the chain.

🚀 Why NEAR Is Climbing the AI Crypto Leaderboard

According to Grayscale’s new AI x Crypto ranking, here’s the top 5:

1. Bittensor (TAO) — 3.8B
2. NEAR Protocol (NEAR) — 3.5B
3. Render (RNDR) — 2.5B
4. Fetch.ai (FET) — 2.3B
5. Worldcoin (WLD) — 2.1B

While Bittensor dominates the AI infrastructure layer, NEAR is building the actual ecosystem where decentralized AI can live, transact, and interact at scale.

🧬 What Sets NEAR Apart?

• Speed: Near-finality times under 1 second
• Scalability: Sharding built-in from day one
• Modularity: Perfect for AI agents that plug into different environments
• UX-first: Clean onboarding and wallet integration that doesn’t make you rage-quit

It’s not just a dev playground. It’s a real shot at reengineering how AI interacts with humans in a decentralized world.

🌐 TL;DR

• NEAR Protocol is now the second-largest AI crypto project by market cap, per Grayscale.
• It’s evolving into the AI blockchain — not just for compute, but for intent-based interaction.
• Grayscale ranks it alongside TAO, RENDER, FET, and WLD as leaders of the AI x Web3 crossover.
• NEAR’s thesis? AI should serve users — not corporations. And blockchains are the key to making that real.