Near Protocol (NEAR) breaks out after many months of Accumulation: Signs of a new bullish phase?

Near Protocol (NEAR) continues to strengthen its short term bullish outlook by maintaining trading above the 3.00 USD mark on Saturday, despite the overall crypto market being overshadowed by strong volatility. As a project located at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, NEAR is sending optimistic signals, opening up the possibility of extending the uptrend to challenge the important resistance zone at 3.80 USD.

NEAR Protocol focuses on AI agent infrastructure

Near Protocol is considered one of the pioneering projects in the on-chain AI economy, confidently positioning itself as the "blockchain of AI." This ecosystem has developed many outstanding products, including Shade Agents – a tool that allows bots to automatically access and interact with various blockchains, while still ensuring user data privacy.

Sharing about this trend, Alex Shevchenko – former product manager of NEAR Protocol, now CEO of Aurora Labs – stated: "The traditional financial system is not suitable for AI agents. Therefore, it is highly likely that cryptocurrency will become a driving force for the AI economy. Another important application is AI research."

In fact, AI is continuously shaping the future of many global industries. Ecosystems like Near Protocol open the door for decentralized networks and AI agents to operate on secure machine learning platforms.

Meanwhile, Ethereum – the largest smart contract platform in the world – is also not standing by. Recently, Ethereum has established a dedicated team to support the development of the AI economy and build a decentralized AI layer on the network.

Davide Crapis, head of AI at the Ethereum Foundation, emphasized: "Ethereum makes AI more reliable, and AI also makes Ethereum more useful [...]. Ethereum benefits by becoming that layer of infrastructure, while AI benefits by breaking away from reliance on a few centralized platforms."

Technical Outlook: NEAR Expands Bullish Momentum

As of the trading session on Saturday, the bulls of Near Protocol still maintain an advantage, although the price has slightly retreated after reaching a daily peak of 3.34 USD. The breakout momentum comes from positive macro signals, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to lower interest rates by an additional 25 basis points, bringing the range to 4.00% – 4.25%. At the same time, the increasing interest in the AI economy in the crypto market also provides significant support for NEAR.

NEAR/USDT daily chart | Source: TradingViewOn a technical level, the MACD indicator has given a buy signal since September 8, reinforcing the bullish outlook as the green MACD line continues to stay above the red signal line. Meanwhile, the 50-day EMA has crossed above the 100-day EMA, forming a golden cross pattern. This is a positive signal, reflecting a risk-on sentiment, and could potentially open up a scenario for NEAR towards the resistance level of 3.38 USD.

However, traders still need to pay attention as the RSI index has surpassed the overbought threshold at 72. This is often an early warning for potential corrections, when profit-taking pressure increases. In the case of a correction, the price may return to test important support zones: the 200-day EMA at 2.86 USD, the 50-day EMA at 2.64 USD, and the 100-day EMA at 2.62 USD.

SN_Nour