This Top Ethereum Rival Has More Than Doubled in Two Weeks. But Is It a Buy?

NEAR (NEAR -7.09%)—the native token of the NEAR Protocol—has more than doubled in value over two weeks, drawing renewed attention as a potential Ethereum rival. NEAR is a Layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain similar to Ethereum, supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications, but it processes transactions faster by splitting work across parallel “shards.” Ethereum, by contrast, relies more on off-chain processing via Layer-2 rollups. The token rally is attributed to surging investor interest in AI agents, rotation from Bitcoin toward smaller altcoins, ecosystem expansion, integrations with other blockchains, and regulatory progress toward a spot price ETF for NEAR (Bitwise’s NEAR ETF) after hurdles with NYSE Arca and the SEC. Still, analysts caution that NEAR’s supply is increasing and large investors control significant portions of circulating supply.