Exchange Bitrue is offering a 4.5% annual staking yield on NEAR, timed to NEAR Protocol's newly launched feature that lets holders convert staked tokens into recurring AI compute credits rather than paying for AI usage through conventional billing.
The underlying feature, NEAR AI, launched in late July 2026 and gives users access to 43 hosted AI models, including those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, by staking NEAR instead of running a credit card. The staked balance itself is not consumed by usage and remains withdrawable once a user unstakes.
How the mechanism works
NEAR Protocol has described the design as tying token demand directly to AI usage. "This service is the first instance linking token staking with AI service usage," the protocol said, adding that it expects "as AI service usage increases, more tokens will be staked, reducing circulating supply."
For Bitrue users, that means staking through the exchange serves two purposes at once: collecting the advertised 4.5% APR while, at the protocol level, staked NEAR still counts toward the pool backing AI compute credits.
Part of a broader AI-token trend
NEAR's stake-to-compute model arrives as several layer-1 networks experiment with tying token utility to AI infrastructure demand rather than pure trading speculation, an area regulators and exchanges alike have been watching closely as AI-linked crypto products multiply. Bitrue's promotion is one of several venues now offering yield specifically framed around NEAR's AI use case rather than generic staking rewards.
