Near Protocol and Internet Computer are moving higher, although the catalysts behind their rallies are quite different. NEAR price has climbed around 20% over the past 3 days, and Internet Co
Near Protocol and Internet Computer are moving higher, although the catalysts behind their rallies are quite different. NEAR price has climbed around 20% over the past 3 days, and Internet Computer price is up roughly 10% today.
The size of those moves naturally raises the question of what is driving them. Near Protocol has a technical case that one analyst says has taken around 6 months to develop. Internet Computer has several fundamental factors at once, including its connection to the AI infrastructure narrative, new attention around cybersecurity modernization, whale accumulation, and the DFINITY and UNDP partnership.
A closer look at both tokens provides more context behind their latest price moves.
Near Protocol comes first after NEAR price climbed around 20% during the past 3 days.
Crypto analyst Polaris xux believes the current move has roots that go back much further. His argument focuses heavily on long term moving averages and how NEAR has behaved since reaching its February low.
Polaris xux compared the current Near Protocol setup with structures that appeared among leading altcoins during previous bull markets. He pointed toward Cardano between 2019 and 2021 and Solana between 2023 and 2025 as examples.
$NEAR 에테나는 둘째치고 니어의 셋업을 왜 자꾸 강조하냐면 모든 알트불장의 대장주는 장기이평선의 셋업을 만들고 출발하는 성질이있음
— 폴라리스 xux (@buzysqw) September 5, 2026현재 솔라나 리플같은 차트는 이제서야 전형적인 바닥에서 올라오는 정직하게 장기이평조차 뚫지못한 저항받는 차트
The analyst does not expect those historical patterns to repeat exactly. His main point concerns the behavior of long term moving averages before some previous market leaders recorded their larger advances.
NEAR has spent months moving through that process.
Polaris xux said the token began its independent recovery after reaching its February low. Near Protocol then started crossing longer term moving averages instead of moving directly from the bottom into the highest resistance area.
The analyst believes that gradual development is important because NEAR has spent around 6 months establishing its current technical structure.
The daily NEAR chart forms an important part of Polaris xux’s argument.
His analysis focuses on the 112, 224, 448, and 896 moving averages. NEAR has been working through these levels individually as its recovery has progressed.
The 448 moving average is now an important resistance area under the analyst’s framework. A successful move through that area would leave the 896 moving average as another major technical level ahead.
Several other developments support his argument:
Polaris xux believes this makes the Near Protocol price structure different from tokens that recently bounced directly from their lows.
His argument is essentially that NEAR has already completed much of the technical preparation that other altcoins may still be trying to establish.
The Near Protocol analysis becomes more interesting once the longer timeframes are included.
Polaris xux pointed to a golden cross between the 112 and 60 moving averages on the 3 day chart. Short term moving averages have also aligned on that timeframe.
The analyst considers this setup uncommon among major tokens available on Upbit.
NEAR has also broken above the 60 moving average on the weekly chart. Shorter moving averages have aligned there as well, and their broader direction has turned upward under the analyst’s framework.
The monthly chart provides another part of the setup. NEAR has produced a golden cross between the 5 and 10 moving averages before moving above its 20 moving average.
That leaves the analyst watching technical structures across 4 different timeframes:
TimeframeNEAR Technical DevelopmentDaily112, 224, 448 and 896 moving averages remain central to the setup3 Day112 and 60 moving average golden cross has developedWeeklyNEAR has broken above the 60 moving averageMonthly5 and 10 moving average golden cross formed before a break above the 20 moving averagePolaris xux previously identified NEAR as one of his promising altcoins after abandoning his earlier August view. He noted that Near Protocol subsequently climbed around 40%.
His latest argument does not rely solely on that previous increase. The main idea is that several moving average structures have developed over months, and the current NEAR price rally is now testing whether that preparation can translate into another larger move.
Near Protocol still needs to overcome the remaining resistance areas for that scenario to develop further.
Internet Computer has a different explanation behind its latest move. ICP price is up roughly 10% today as several developments surrounding the network come together.
Welsh ICP Conviction has focused on one particularly large theme: the infrastructure required for the artificial intelligence era.
His argument followed comments from Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora concerning cybersecurity infrastructure.
— Welsh ICP Conviction
$ICP: A $1 TRILLION CYBERSECURITY RESET MAY BE COMING — AND THE AI ERA WON’T WAIT.
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has delivered a warning that should make every government, enterprise and CISO pay attention:Roughly $1 TRILLION of existing cybersecurity… https://t.co/IhZB0ht2X2
(@ICPLEGEND1966) September 4, 2026
Arora warned that roughly $1 trillion of existing cybersecurity infrastructure may need modernization as artificial intelligence changes the speed and sophistication of digital threats.
The core issue is that much of today’s security infrastructure was created when attacks largely operated at human speed. Artificial intelligence changes that equation because automated systems can discover vulnerabilities, execute attack chains, and adapt much faster.
Arora specifically argued that technology deployed 7 or 10 years ago may not be prepared to handle AI attacks that operate at machine speed.
Welsh ICP Conviction believes that problem has broader implications for Internet Computer.
Welsh ICP Conviction connected Arora’s cybersecurity warning with the infrastructure Internet Computer has spent years developing.
The argument extends beyond cybersecurity alone. Artificial intelligence could eventually require changes across cloud infrastructure, computing, identity, data storage, applications, and automation.
Internet Computer already offers several technologies that fit parts of that broader discussion.
The network supports full stack applications that can operate onchain rather than depending entirely on conventional cloud infrastructure. ICP also provides cryptographic security and authentication, alongside the ability to maintain application data and state onchain.
Other parts of the Internet Computer infrastructure include:
Welsh ICP Conviction’s broader thesis is that AI may force companies and governments to reconsider more than their cybersecurity tools. Computing infrastructure itself could eventually require major upgrades.
The $1 trillion figure should still be treated carefully. Arora was discussing the possible scale of cybersecurity modernization, not predicting $1 trillion of business for Internet Computer.
The relevance for ICP comes from the broader technology problem his comments describe.
Another Internet Computer catalyst comes from DFINITY and the United Nations Development Programme.
Analyst Akshay pointed to the DFINITY and UNDP partnership as part of the current ICP narrative. He connected the development with real world blockchain infrastructure and potential institutional use cases.
DFINITY and UNDP have been working together around blockchain based digital infrastructure. That relationship matters to the ICP discussion because DFINITY is the main research and development organization behind the Internet Computer ecosystem.
Such initiatives give the project another avenue beyond crypto native applications.
Internet Computer has spent years presenting itself as infrastructure capable of supporting applications, data, identity systems, and decentralized services directly onchain. Work involving an international institution such as UNDP gives analysts another practical area to examine when assessing whether that technology can find broader use.
Akshay believes that combination deserves attention alongside the latest ICP price move.
Read Also: XRP Price Could Have One More Drop Before the Bigger Move Begins!
Akshay also pointed toward whale accumulation around Internet Computer.
Large holder activity can become useful when evaluating whether bigger wallets are increasing exposure during a period of stronger price performance. Whale accumulation does not guarantee that ICP price will continue higher, since large holders can change positions and blockchain data can have several interpretations.
Still, the combination is notable because it arrives alongside the roughly 10% daily ICP price increase and the fundamental developments surrounding Internet Computer.
The current ICP picture therefore contains several separate elements. AI infrastructure provides one part of the narrative. Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora’s cybersecurity warning provides another. The DFINITY and UNDP relationship adds a real world infrastructure angle, and whale accumulation provides an onchain factor to monitor.
NEAR Protocol is a high-performance, sharded Layer-1 blockchain designed to serve as a scalable foundation for decentralized applications and the emerging AI agent economy.
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