Markets
Bitwise CIO Highlights NEAR's Investment Potential Beyond AI Ambitions
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has outlined a compelling investment case for NEAR, focusing on its expanding blockchain business and the revenue generated from its Intents product, which simplifies transactions across blockchains.
In his recent memo, Hougan noted that NEAR Intents has achieved a cumulative trading volume exceeding $30 billion and is projected to generate around $45 million in fees this year. A portion of these fees is allocated for token buybacks, enhancing the token's value. NEAR has experienced a remarkable 198% increase in token value over the past quarter, significantly outpacing Bitcoin and Ethereum.
NEAR aims to serve as infrastructure for AI agents, facilitating transactions among them and with the broader market. The cofounder of NEAR, Illia Polosukhin, contributed to the foundational paper on transformer architecture, which underpins modern AI models. Hougan described NEAR's strategy as focused on building practical services that could support a burgeoning market for autonomous agents in the future, including high transaction throughput and confidential AI infrastructure.
While NEAR's current activity is primarily driven by human users, Hougan believes the existing demand strengthens its investment case, even if the adoption of AI agents progresses slowly. He highlighted the traction in confidential AI infrastructure, which aims to protect data during processing, as a further layer of opportunity.
In a related discussion, both Hougan and Sovereign CEO Sal Ternullo noted that NEAR is entering a new phase of value accrual, with the potential for its AI products to contribute significantly once they achieve scale. They emphasized that NEAR's existing economic model allows traditional investors to assess its value without relying solely on its future AI ambitions.
As NEAR continues to evolve, the combination of its established product market fit and the developing narrative around AI could lead to significant growth and value for investors.
FAQ
What is NEAR's Intents product and how does it generate revenue?
NEAR's Intents product simplifies transactions across blockchains and has achieved a cumulative trading volume exceeding $30 billion. It is projected to generate around $45 million in fees this year, with a portion of these fees allocated for token buybacks, enhancing the token's value.
How has NEAR's token value performed recently?
NEAR has experienced a remarkable 198% increase in token value over the past quarter, significantly outpacing both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What role does NEAR aim to play in the AI market?
NEAR aims to serve as infrastructure for AI agents, facilitating transactions among them and with the broader market, while also focusing on building practical services that support a burgeoning market for autonomous agents.
What is the significance of confidential AI infrastructure for NEAR?
Confidential AI infrastructure aims to protect data during processing, providing an additional layer of opportunity for NEAR as it evolves and potentially strengthens its investment case.
How does NEAR's economic model benefit traditional investors?
NEAR's existing economic model allows traditional investors to assess its value based on current operations and revenue generation, without relying solely on future AI ambitions, which may take time to scale.