$NEAR trades like an AI coin and earns like an exchange.
the money that buys back NEAR doesn't come from AI. it comes from swaps: NEAR Intents did $10.4b last quarter and is plugged into Ledger, Brave Wallet and, since Monday, institutional desks via Talos.
those swaps pay fees, and NEAR's cut buys NEAR on the open market.
if the AI trade comes back, NEAR gets that bid too. until then, the swaps keep buying.