NEAR's 'Intent Layer' is suddenly trending. In early November, NEAR Intents @near_intents saw its daily trading volume surpass $200 million, generating over $400,000 in fees, making it the fifth-largest blockchain network globally. After a long period of silence, NEAR @NEARProtocol is back in the spotlight, and the market is buzzing with speculation: could this mark its 'second rise'? NEAR Intents is one of NEAR's core innovations launched at the end of 2024, serving as a key component of its 'chain abstraction' system. It allows users to simply express their transaction intent (e.g., 'swap Token A for Token B at the best price'), and the solver network automatically handles cross-chain matching, optimal pricing, and settlement. In simple terms, it makes cross-chain operations as easy as 'ordering takeout.' With the rising popularity of privacy coin ZEC, a significant influx of funds has poured into NEAR Intents, as it has become the fastest route to access ZEC. Daily trading volume skyrocketed from millions of dollars in September to $400 million in November. However, this $400,000 'daily revenue' hasn't flowed into the NEAR mainnet. The reason is that NEAR Intents' fees are primarily captured by third-party solvers and market makers, while NEAR only collects minimal Gas fees. On-chain data shows that since November, NEAR Intents has processed 7.16 million transactions, with the mainnet's actual revenue totaling only about $2,000, 70% of which is burned. In other words, this 'boom' is more like a classic case of 'a busy store, but a quiet mall.' Nevertheless, the success of NEAR Intents validates NEAR's 'chain abstraction + AI' technical approach and demonstrates the market's genuine demand for 'frictionless, multi-chain interoperability.' Its mechanism is similar to the currently popular X402 protocol concept and is seen as critical infrastructure for the AI agent economy. While it may not bring direct revenue to NEAR for now, it has reignited attention on NEAR in terms of narrative. Currently, NEAR's mainnet TVL remains around $130 million, a noticeable decline compared to the beginning of the year. The foundation is advancing a governance proposal to lower the inflation cap from 5% to 2.5% in an effort to boost confidence. As Andy, founder of crypto podcast The Rollup, said, NEAR, ZEC, and Starknet are all driving the next generation of privacy and intent architecture. Even if the revenue isn't substantial, the buzz around NEAR Intents shows that this ecosystem hasn't been completely abandoned.