• Near Protocol has surged nearly 100% in May, trading above $2.54 on Monday.
• Broader AI narrative fuels demand for related tokens, including NEAR.
• Retail interest in NEAR derivatives spikes as perpetual futures Open Interest hits a record $713 million.
• Traders are increasingly piling into long positions in NEAR as the OI-Weighted Funding Rate remains largely in positive territory.

Near Protocol (NEAR) extends its rebound above $2.50 on Monday, as crypto prices broadly stabilize amid optimism of a potential US-Iran peace agreement. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) token has surged nearly 100% in May, supported by projections that the AI market is poised to continue growing over the coming years.

Here are three factors supporting the case for further upside in NEAR.

1. AI narrative boosts NEAR's rally

The AI narrative fueling tokens such as NEAR and GRASS hinges on the convergence of artificial intelligence, especially autonomous agents and decentralized blockchain infrastructure. More recently, Nvidia’s earnings and revenue projections marked a major boost for the AI crypto sector, prompting capital rotation. Crypto AI projects are also positioning themselves as the AI agent execution layer.

Near Protocol has positioned itself as a blockchain for AI-native apps, plugging into the agentic future, where agents can operate securely and at scale. On the near platform, AI handles the user interface and intent interpretation while the protocol manages identity, trust, ownership, transactions and multi-chain execution.

Near Protocol’s all-in-one financial platform enables AI agents to own wallets and assets, execute across supported chains and interact with decentralized marketplaces.

2. Retail demand drives NEAR’s bullish outlook

Since early May, Near Protocol has experienced a notable increase in retail traders seeking risk exposure. CoinGlass data shows futures Open Interest (OI) at $713 million, marking a new record high on Monday, up from roughly $604 million the previous day. The surge in the derivatives market coincides with sustained price increases and supports NEAR’s bullish outlook. In other words, investors appear confident in the token’s ability to sustain short to medium-term gains and are willing to open new positions.

The OI-Weighted Funding Rate, which remains largely positive, reinforces the current risk-on sentiment. CoinGlass data shows the metric at 0.0019% in the positive region, suggesting interest but not an overextended market.

3. Price analysis: NEAR bulls tighten grip

NEAR trades at $2.54, extending a strong bullish phase as it holds well above the major moving averages. The 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1.59, the 100-EMA at $1.50, and the 200-EMA at $1.63 all sit comfortably below spot, suggesting a firmly supported uptrend, while the SuperTrend line at $1.90 reinforces the underlying bullish structure.

Momentum stays overheated, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 85 on the daily chart and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram firmly positive, hinting that while buyers remain in control, upside could become vulnerable to bouts of profit-taking.

On the downside, initial support is aligned with the SuperTrend level around $1.90, where a deeper pullback could first find dip-buying interest. Below that, the 200-EMA at about $1.63, the 50-EMA near $1.59, and the 100-EMA around $1.50 form a broader demand band that would be expected to cushion a more extended correction and keep the broader bullish bias intact as long as price holds above this cluster.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)