NEAR Protocol and iDEGEN: Top AI-Powered Cryptos to Watch in 2025
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to weave itself deeper into every layer of digital infrastructure, the cryptocurrency space is undergoing a transformative evolution. Among the dozens of projects emerging at the intersection of AI and blockchain, two stand out as frontrunners in 2025: NEAR Protocol and iDEGEN. These platforms are not only showcasing technological innovation but also redefining how smart contracts, decentralized applications (dApps), and autonomous economies operate in a world increasingly influenced by AI.
With crypto markets experiencing renewed momentum and investor sentiment tilting toward high-utility assets, NEAR and iDEGEN are quickly gaining traction as AI-powered cryptos poised to lead the next wave of Web3 growth. Here’s why they matter, how they work, and what makes them essential tokens to watch in 2025.
NEAR Protocol: Scalable Infrastructure Meets AI Integration
NEAR Protocol has long been recognized as a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, designed to compete with Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche. What sets NEAR apart in 2025, however, is its strategic pivot toward AI integration, transforming it into a smart contract platform uniquely suited for intelligent, adaptive, and user-friendly decentralized applications.
Key Features Driving NEAR’s AI-Powered Evolution
- Chain Abstraction and AI-Enhanced UX
NEAR has led the way in making blockchain «invisible» to the end-user through its chain abstraction layer. This simplifies user interactions across chains by allowing seamless login experiences, gasless transactions, and smart routing—now augmented by AI-driven personal assistants and recommendation engines. For the everyday user, blockchain apps built on NEAR feel more like traditional mobile apps than clunky DeFi interfaces. - AI-Optimized Smart Contracts
With the rise of AI copilots and neural execution environments, NEAR’s runtime environment now supports AI-augmented smart contract creation and auditing, allowing developers to build safer, more adaptive code. This greatly reduces the barrier for entry and increases the reliability of dApps. - Open Web AI Alliance
NEAR co-founded the Open Web AI Alliance in early 2025—a consortium aimed at building open-source, decentralized alternatives to proprietary AI models. This initiative has accelerated the adoption of machine learning frameworks that run natively on-chain or via decentralized compute networks. - DePIN and AI Compute
NEAR is also integrating with Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) to enable distributed AI compute—offering a solution for the growing demand for GPU resources in the training and deployment of AI models.
These developments have made NEAR a go-to platform for AI-centric builders, attracting developers working on decentralized chatbots, AI data markets, generative art, and predictive finance tools.
iDEGEN: The Underdog AI Memecoin with a Brain
While NEAR brings the infrastructure, iDEGEN represents a different but equally significant trend: the convergence of AI, culture, and memetics in Web3.
Launched in late 2024, iDEGEN started as a community-driven memecoin parodying both AI and crypto culture. However, by mid-2025, it had evolved into a powerful experimental platform blending AI tooling with decentralized media and gamified engagement.
Why iDEGEN Is Gaining Serious Attention
- AI-Powered Community Bots
iDEGEN’s ecosystem runs on a series of intelligent Discord and Telegram bots—powered by decentralized AI—that help communities generate memes, write smart contracts, create NFT art, and simulate DAO governance. These bots aren’t just gimmicks—they’re fully integrated with iDEGEN’s tokenomics, rewarding users for creative and social contributions. - Creator Economy and MicroDAOs
iDEGEN has pioneered a system of MicroDAOs—mini decentralized autonomous organizations spun up by users in seconds, each powered by AI agents that help manage proposals, treasury, and execution. These MicroDAOs are helping creators monetize their communities without relying on centralized platforms. - Gamified Learning and Onboarding
To onboard new users into the Web3 ecosystem, iDEGEN offers AI-driven quests—learning modules gamified through reward mechanics and AI tutoring. This has proven to be especially popular among Gen Z users entering crypto through social platforms rather than traditional exchanges. - Partnerships and Growth
What began as a meme has now attracted partnerships with serious players like Arweave, The Graph, and even developer guilds on NEAR. iDEGEN is building its own AI-layer infrastructure called “DEGENet,” a decentralized mesh of compute and data nodes focused on real-time inference and entertainment.
Despite its playful aesthetic, iDEGEN represents a broader movement in 2025—one that values not just technology, but culture, identity, and creative autonomy powered by AI.
Why These Tokens Matter in 2025
The reason NEAR Protocol and iDEGEN are emerging as top AI-powered cryptos is because they address different, but complementary, needs in the blockchain-AI fusion:
- NEAR is focused on infrastructure, scalability, and AI usability, positioning itself as the backbone of the intelligent Web3 economy.
- iDEGEN is focused on culture, participation, and entertainment, making AI feel approachable and relevant to everyday users.
Together, they reflect a larger truth about Web3 in 2025: utility and culture must coexist. Infrastructure alone cannot attract users, and hype alone cannot sustain innovation.
Investment Perspective
From an investment point of view, both NEAR and iDEGEN present unique opportunities:
- NEAR (NEAR Token): Institutional-grade, with strong fundamentals, active development, and long-term potential for ecosystem growth.
- iDEGEN (DEGEN Token): High-risk, high-reward asset with strong community backing and upside potential through virality and usage.
While NEAR is already listed on major exchanges and included in institutional portfolios, iDEGEN is still in its early stage—potentially offering more asymmetric returns if it continues to build real value atop its viral beginnings.
Conclusion
The intersection of AI and crypto is not a passing trend—it is becoming a foundational layer of the digital economy. In 2025, NEAR Protocol and iDEGEN represent two of the most compelling projects riding this wave. One is building the highway; the other is designing the ride.
As investors and builders look toward the future of Web3, both tokens deserve close attention. Whether you’re betting on infrastructure or culture—or ideally both—NEAR and iDEGEN are two AI-powered cryptos to watch, hold, and engage with as the next digital frontier unfolds.