Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and Sovereign CEO Sal Ternullo believe NEAR is entering a new growth phase. They point to revenue from Intents, token buybacks, and potential future AI-related fees as key drivers for the asset's investment case.
The network previously reduced its inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%. Currently, a governance proposal is under consideration to further decrease inflation from 2.5% to 1.6% over a two-year period to balance supply and demand.
Bitwise recently launched the NRR spot NEAR exchange-traded product on NYSE Arca. The product incorporates in-house staking, with rewards intended to accrue to shareholders through net asset value.
Hougan noted that while investors previously viewed NEAR primarily as an AI-focused project, the growth of Intents has provided more visible economic fundamentals. This allows investors to justify valuations based on current usage.
Ternullo indicated that the next potential repricing event for the token depends on achieving sufficient scale in AI products to activate a fee switch, similar to the monetization model currently applied to Intents.
