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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recovery was fueled by Bitcoin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to CoinGecko data, the global crypto market climbed 5% to $2.45 trillion before stabilizing near $2.4 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid this volatility, NEAR, Virtuals, and Morpho stood out as the strongest performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEAR Protocol delivered the most impressive performance of the day, rallying 24% to reach a five-week high of $1.45. The token\u2019s weekly gains have now surpassed 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the announcement, Nvidia shares climbed nearly 3%, reinforcing bullish sentiment around AI-related assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like NEAR, Virtuals benefited from the broader AI narrative. However, its gains were also supported by strong internal metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The combination of AI sector optimism and strengthening network fundamentals helped drive the breakout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morpho gained 11% on the day, reaching $1.97 and extending its weekly gains to roughly 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional momentum has come from Apollo Global\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This institutional backing has strengthened confidence in the project\u2019s long-term positioning, providing a solid fundamental base for the current price move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strong performance of NEAR, Virtuals, and Morpho highlights how quickly capital can rotate into high-growth narratives during periods of improving sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether the momentum sustains will likely depend on broader market conditions, Bitcoin\u2019s stability, and continued ecosystem growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s sharp move higher, improved macro sentiment, and a wave of short liquidations. As risk appetite returned, several altcoins capitalized…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,63],"tags":[2069,187,165],"class_list":["post-14412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-crypto-news","tag-crypto-ai","tag-liquidation","tag-momentum"],"yoast_head":"\n