Bitwise Boss Calls NEAR a "Moonshot" — Coin Responds With a Modest Hop 🚀

NEAR rose 6% after Bitwise CEO Matt Hougan identified the token as a rare smaller-cap project pairing an existing operating business with longer-term artificial intelligence upside. Hougan's comments were published as the asset continued to trade higher following Bitwise's recent launch of its first U.S. spot NEAR ETF, a product that offers regulated brokerage exposure to NEAR while incorporating staking rewards.

In a written outlook, Hougan said advisers frequently ask which smaller crypto assets could eventually scale into much larger positions. He noted that he typically approaches such names cautiously because many rely almost entirely on future expectations. NEAR stands apart, according to Hougan, because it already operates a functioning business alongside its broader AI ambitions.

The operating business is anchored by NEAR Intents, which has processed more than $30 billion in cumulative volume as adoption has expanded. Thirty-day Intents volume has passed $4 billion, representing 896% year-over-year growth, according to figures shared by NEAR. Thirty-day revenue also exceeded $2 million and rose 512% from a year earlier.

Bitwise described NEAR as building a settlement engine designed for fast and inexpensive AI-scale commerce. The network is structured to support transactions between AI agents as their role in digital markets expands, with NEAR Intents positioned centrally because it allows users or AI agents to specify desired outcomes for execution across counterparties.

Hougan framed NEAR's existing business as the base layer of the thesis, with AI agents providing the longer-term opportunity. NEAR was trading up 6% on the session at the time of his remarks.