San Francisco to Host Major NEAR Foundation Conference Scheduled for 2026
NEARCON, the annual gathering for the blockchain community, is set to return in 2026 with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and its intersection with blockchain technology. The theme for NEARCON 2026 is "The Internet Wants to Think," reflecting the growing importance of AI in shaping the future of the internet.
The conference, scheduled to take place at Fort Mason in San Francisco from February 23-24, will bring together pioneers, innovators, and experts from across the industry. Applications to attend or speak at NEARCON 2026 are now open, with expectations of drawing around 3,000-5,000 attendees from across the globe, as was the case with NEARCON 2023.
In a strategic move, NEARCON is shifting its location from Lisbon to San Francisco, signifying a focus on the AI industry in Silicon Valley. This move also marks a significant step towards a fully agentic, cross-chain internet, as NEAR has partnered with Aptos to expand cross-chain capabilities.
The integration with Aptos has enabled applications like Zashi and ThorSwap, allowing users to perform one-click swaps across 19 blockchains with near-zero fees and 1.2-second finality. Over $955 million in swaps have been made across 115 tokens through this integration, approaching the milestone of $1 billion in cross-chain volume.
NEARCON 2026 will feature keynotes from these pioneers, live agent demos, and hands-on workshops. Attendees can expect debates on topics like AI ethics and adoption, as well as discussions on the development of user-owned AI and what happens when AI agents can transact on-chain.
The speaker lineup for NEARCON 2026 in San Francisco has not yet been announced, but it is expected to feature prominent leaders in the AI and blockchain industries. The NEAR Foundation CEO, Illia Polosukhin, is a co-author of the influential "Attention Is All You Need" AI paper, further underscoring the conference's focus on AI.
As for Aptos, its 24-hour trading volume currently stands at $334.34 million, and its market cap is $2.91 billion. The integration with NEAR is expected to bolster Aptos' cross-chain capabilities, providing a more seamless and efficient user experience.
With NEARCON 2026 promising an exciting exploration of the future of AI and blockchain, it's an event not to be missed for anyone interested in these rapidly evolving technologies. So, mark your calendars for February 23-24, 2026, and get ready to join the conversation at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
