NEAR Leads AI Token Rally, Grayscale Sees Sector Potential

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has been leading the charge in the AI token sector, with its price jumping 183% in September, according to Grayscale. The firm's AI crypto sector gained 54% during the same period, more than double the broader market's 24% rise. NEAR's price has traded over $4, a 151% increase over the past 30 days.

Grayscale highlighted that NEAR was not the only AI token to post strong gains, with Venice (VVV) climbing 70%, World (WLD) rising 47%, and Bittensor (TAO) adding 37%. The rally made AI the best-performing category across Grayscale's six major crypto sectors.

Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl believes that the AI sector could produce one or more major winners over the next five years, with the category currently worth around $15 billion. He noted that public blockchains could help balance the concentration of AI development among a handful of companies by providing open infrastructure for agent payments, identity, and private compute.