# NEAR Stands Out as Crypto Capital Rotates Toward AI Assets

By Enna Lee

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/31272
Published: 2026-10-13T15:16:40.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-13T15:16:40.000Z
Section: Investing

> NEAR held up as Bitcoin and Ether declined, while U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs recorded weekly outflows and crypto liquidations reached $1.19 billion.

NEAR Protocol emerged as a standout among AI-linked crypto assets during a week of broad market weakness, as Bitcoin and Ether declined and capital rotated from liquid DeFi and large-cap tokens toward AI-related assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 3.2% during the covered week, while Ether (ETH) dropped 7.0%. The S&P 500 rose 1.2% over the same period.

U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs recorded weekly outflows. Crypto liquidations reached $1.19 billion over 24 hours around the market low, including approximately $1.06 billion in long positions.

Only 11 of 66 large-cap altcoins finished the week higher. The median decline was 3.7%, while Uniswap (UNI) fell 15.8%.

The market action pointed to a rotation within crypto rather than a broad exit from digital assets. Money moved away from liquid DeFi and large-cap tokens toward AI-related names, with NEAR among the strongest performers in that group.

NEAR has positioned its network around AI-agent infrastructure, including cross-chain transactions, confidential execution and staking-based access to AI computing. Its 2.13 upgrade introduced dynamic resharding and a post-quantum signing scheme.

NEAR said post-quantum cryptography and dynamic resharding were live on testnet as of July 8. On July 30, the network announced a staking-based payment system for confidential inference and autonomous agents. The staking system offered access to 43 models.

The broader market remained under pressure as crypto lost flow support while equities retained support from earnings.

The covered week’s performance placed NEAR within a broader shift toward AI-linked crypto assets, while Bitcoin, Ether and most large-cap altcoins declined.