NEAR Protocol, Virtuals, and Morpho emerged as the top crypto gainers on March 3, posting strong double-digit rallies as the broader digital asset market rebounded above the $2.4 trillion mark.
The recovery was fueled by Bitcoin’s sharp move higher, improved macro sentiment, and a wave of short liquidations. As risk appetite returned, several altcoins capitalized on the momentum particularly those tied to AI narratives and strong ecosystem developments.
Market Rebound Sparks Short Squeeze
According to CoinGecko data, the global crypto market climbed 5% to $2.45 trillion before stabilizing near $2.4 trillion.
Bitcoin played a central role in the rally, surging from intraday lows near $65,000 to almost $69,800 within hours. That move triggered a broader market bounce and forced leveraged traders to unwind bearish bets.
Data from CoinGlass shows that nearly $202 million worth of short positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. Total liquidations across both long and short positions reached $331 million.
At the same time, stronger-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data improved investor confidence and boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates later this year. That combination helped revive appetite for higher-risk assets like altcoins.
Amid this volatility, NEAR, Virtuals, and Morpho stood out as the strongest performers.
NEAR Protocol Leads With 24% Surge
NEAR Protocol delivered the most impressive performance of the day, rallying 24% to reach a five-week high of $1.45. The token’s weekly gains have now surpassed 50%.
The surge was partly driven by renewed enthusiasm in the AI sector. Nvidia recently announced a multiyear strategic partnership with Coherent Corp to advance optical interconnect technology. As part of the agreement, Nvidia will invest $2 billion to expand research and manufacturing capabilities.
Following the announcement, Nvidia shares climbed nearly 3%, reinforcing bullish sentiment around AI-related assets.
Since Nvidia is widely viewed as a bellwether for the artificial intelligence sector, its positive earnings and expansion plans often spill over into AI-focused crypto projects like NEAR.
In addition to macro AI momentum, project-specific developments also supported the rally. The launch of Near FM and Near Intents has strengthened ecosystem engagement, providing a fundamental tailwind to price action.
Virtuals Breaks Out of Consolidation Range
Virtuals Protocol rose more than 15% to $0.79, marking its highest level since late January. The breakout followed a week-long consolidation between $0.60 and $0.75.
Like NEAR, Virtuals benefited from the broader AI narrative. However, its gains were also supported by strong internal metrics.
The team recently revealed that agent transactions on the network surged 128% over the past two weeks. A total of 3,421 agents competed in Epoch 2 of its AI revenue incentives program. During that period, agent-to-agent revenue reached $2.8 million, with around $200,000 distributed to builders.
Looking ahead, the team has outlined upgrades for Epoch 3 designed to improve reward quality and focus more heavily on genuine demand and long-term utility.
The combination of AI sector optimism and strengthening network fundamentals helped drive the breakout.
Morpho Climbs on OKX Launch and Institutional Backing
Morpho gained 11% on the day, reaching $1.97 and extending its weekly gains to roughly 25%.
The rally followed increased network activity linked to the launch of the OKX Onchain Earn product on the Morpho protocol. The initiative includes a 65 million KAT reward pool for users staking USDT.
Additional momentum has come from Apollo Global’s involvement. Under a newly established four-year cooperation agreement, the $940 billion asset manager is authorized to acquire up to 90 million MORPHO tokens, representing about 9% of the total supply.
This institutional backing has strengthened confidence in the project’s long-term positioning, providing a solid fundamental base for the current price move.
The Bigger Picture
The strong performance of NEAR, Virtuals, and Morpho highlights how quickly capital can rotate into high-growth narratives during periods of improving sentiment.
AI-linked tokens appear to be benefiting from renewed optimism in the sector, while DeFi protocols with new product launches and institutional partnerships are attracting fresh liquidity.
Whether the momentum sustains will likely depend on broader market conditions, Bitcoin’s stability, and continued ecosystem growth.
