NEAR Token Soars 128% in Month Amid AI Push and Hack Recovery
NEAR Protocol has seen a significant price surge over the past month, with its token reaching $5.17 on October 6, 2026. This represents a 128% increase month-over-month and a 4.2% gain against Bitcoin on the day. The rally has been fueled by several key developments, including the recovery of $3.8 million stolen in an exploit and the launch of confidential perpetual futures.
The $3.8 million recovery, which included $2.95 million in Bitcoin and $850,000 through other means, was confirmed on October 2. NEAR Intents General Manager Alex Shevchenko had set an October 4 deadline for the return of the funds. Co-founder Illia Polosukhin credited NEAR’s SHIELD AI security layer and investigative efforts for identifying the exploiter within 24 hours.
NEAR’s focus on artificial intelligence has also played a role in the rally. Polosukhin, a co-author of the seminal “Attention Is All You Need” paper, has positioned NEAR as infrastructure for AI agents and machine-to-machine transactions. NEAR Intents, the project’s intent-based trading layer, has seen over $4.5 billion in 30-day DEX volume, supporting the AI narrative.
The rally has coincided with substantial derivatives positioning, with NEAR’s 24-hour futures volume reaching about $2.05 billion. However, the token’s market valuation has expanded significantly relative to its on-chain footprint, with open interest more than six times its DeFi total value locked (TVL). This discrepancy highlights the potential for rapid price movements based on derivatives positioning.