NEAR is quietly undergoing a major transformation:

From incentive-driven L1 → Value accumulation type AI base chain
From public chain competitors → "Agent-native" blockchain designers
From fragmented user experience → Chain Abstraction unified entry
These changes could potentially determine its pricing anchor for the next five years.
Expand on it👇

1⃣ Inflation Rate Reform: Decrease from 5% to 2.5%

This is not just deflation, but clearly tells the market:
@NEARProtocol no longer relies on "spraying coins" to attract growth, but aims to build an intrinsic value closed loop.

This is beneficial for long-term holders/Stakers, while Validators will need new incentives to fill the gap.
This is a signal for a public chain to shift towards a "stable asset logic".

2⃣ Chain Abstraction: Opening the gateway to a multi-chain experience

NEAR aims to address one of the biggest barriers in Web3:
"New users can't figure out where the wallet/blockchain/bridge/fee/Gas is at all."

If it can really achieve abstraction at the underlying level, users can directly operate Agents, wallet custody, cross-chain calls...
That is the "Apple Moment" of the experience layer.

3⃣ AI + Blockchain, NEAR's new positioning: Agent-native Layer1

Unlike those chains that "provide computing power to AI," what NEAR aims to do is:
✅ Allow AI to directly own wallets, assets, permissions, and execution power.
✅ Let AI make autonomous decisions, trade, and schedule cross-chain on the chain.
✅ Let AI transform from "Web2 worker" to "Web3 free person"

This is not only a trend but also the most explosive new paradigm.

4⃣ Decoupling of Growth vs Valuation

The number of NEAR addresses has exceeded 50 million, developers are active, and the ecosystem is expanding.
However, the price trend is lukewarm, and the market value does not reflect the fundamentals.

Is this a cyclical lag, or has the growth dividend of users been prematurely exhausted?
A question: What exactly is the market waiting for in terms of a "certainty signal"?

5⃣ Risks must be clearly understood:
Validator earnings are affected → There are concerns about network security

Cross-chain/UX layer still has a high technical threshold.

The application scenarios for agents are still in the early stage of development.

The regulatory gray area of AI has not yet been resolved.

Competing fiercely with newcomers like Solana/Aptos
NEAR is a high-potential project, but it is also on a highly experimental path.

🔚 Summary:
NEAR is no longer a traditional public chain project in the conventional sense.
It is becoming an infrastructure for agents, a testing ground for chain abstraction.

This transformation is destined to be a marathon, not a sprint.

If you missed Ethereum in 2018, Solana in 2021, and EigenLayer in 2023,
Then perhaps it is time to take a serious look at NEAR's 2025.