In the fast-evolving blockchain landscape, investors are once again asking: what’s the best new crypto to buy right now? The spotlight has turned to NEAR crypto, as the Near Protocol rides a new wave of institutional attention after a massive $120M corporate crypto treasury raise.
With its AI integration, strong partnerships, and growing ecosystem, NEAR is fast becoming one of the most talked-about assets in the market. But is it just another hype cycle, or the next foundational layer for decentralized AI? Let’s break down what’s driving the excitement.
What is Near Protocol and Why is It Gaining Attention?
Near Protocol is a layer-1 blockchain that aims to make decentralized applications faster, cheaper, and more user-friendly. Built on Nightshade sharding, NEAR can process up to 100,000 TPS (with 1M TPS in the future) at minimal fees, making it a serious contender among major smart contract platforms such as Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot.
The NEAR Ecosystem's very own @BowenWang18, Head of Protocol at NEAR One, sits down with @AlecJBurns and @JackODavies_ to discuss Nightshade, Sharding, and how NEAR can scale to 1m TPS (and beyond). https://t.co/FIvgK95jlj pic.twitter.com/t0lXXpulYu
— NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) December 18, 2024
Launched in 2020, Near focuses heavily on accessibility. Its human-readable account names (like username.near) and a developer-friendly environment (complete with JavaScript and AI-ready tools) have made it a top choice for Web2 developers entering Web3. The NEAR token powers the network, serving as a medium for transaction fees, staking, and governance.
At the time of writing, NEAR’s price hovers around $2.24, with a market cap of about $2,86Bn. It’s ranked among the top 60 cryptocurrencies globally by CoinGecko, and recently saw an uptick in trading volume amid renewed optimism following its partnership with a NASDAQ-listed firm. With its all-time high of $20.44 (January 2022), the project still holds massive upside potential if momentum continues through the 2025-26 bull cycle.
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$120M Corporate Crypto Treasury Boost – Why It’s a Game-Changer for NEAR?
The big headline driving buzz around Near crypto is OceanPal Inc.’s $120M raise. (NASDAQ: OP) to launch SovereignAI, a new subsidiary developed in partnership with the NEAR Foundation. This initiative aims to create AI infrastructure powered by NEAR’s blockchain and NVIDIA hardware for scalable, secure machine learning operations.
🔥 LATEST: Nasdaq-listed OceanPal raises $120M to launch a $NEAR token treasury company, planning to acquire up to 10% of NEAR's token supply. pic.twitter.com/5W0XRLadiI
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 29, 2025
SovereignAI’s mission includes building a corporate crypto treasury capable of acquiring up to 10% of NEAR’s total token supply, thereby making OceanPal one of NEAR’s largest institutional holders. This marks one of the first times a publicly traded company has structured its balance sheet around a blockchain-native asset, a move that many analysts see as a vote of confidence in NEAR’s long-term value.
The funding round saw participation from Kraken, Fabric Ventures, Proximity, and the G20 Group, among others, further validating institutional trust in NEAR’s technology. Illia Polosukhin, Near’s co-founder and a SovereignAI advisor, emphasized that the goal of creating “sovereign-grade AI infrastructure” that maintains decentralized data privacy and ownership is a clear nod to Web3’s ethos of user control.
🧵We’re SovereignAI, a wholly owned subsidiary of OceanPal created to be a leading publicly traded investment vehicle for both digital asset & AI infrastructure exposure…
— SVRN (@svrn_ai) October 28, 2025
This isn’t just bullish for NEAR’s fundamentals; it also creates potential supply pressure, as large-scale accumulation could tighten circulating liquidity, paving the way for future NEAR price appreciation. Combined with the AI narrative that continues to dominate markets, Near’s integration into this new hybrid model of blockchain + AI positions it as one of the strongest mid-cap plays for 2025.
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Why PEPENODE Might Be the Best New Crypto to Watch Next
While Near is proving its mettle with institutional adoption, retail investors are looking for the next best new crypto with explosive upside. PEPENODE is a play-to-earn mining project that gamifies the Pepe meme brand.
Built on Ethereum, PEPENODE allows users to become virtual miners, design their own server rooms, and operate Miner Nodes that produce meme coins and rewards in a gamified environment. Holders earn up to 650% APY through staking and receive 3,001 tokens per ETH block, distributed over two years.
What sets PEPENODE apart is its deflationary tokenomics. A whopping 70% of tokens used for node purchases and upgrades are burned, reducing supply and driving long-term value. With the presale price at just $0,0011227 and almost $2M already raised, early adopters are positioning for what could be one of 2025’s biggest P2E launches.
For investors diversifying across innovative ecosystems, NEAR represents the institutional and AI-driven side of blockchain growth, while PEPENODE offers a fresh, community-powered, high-reward model for retail investors.
For more information about the project, you can check their X and Telegram channels.
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