The NEAR protocol's intention-based trading system has experienced a significant surge in activity, with volume nearly doubling as over 120,000 users processed close to $800 million in swaps and payments over the past month. This system enhances cross-chain operations by allowing users to specify desired outcomes, such as converting USDC on Ethereum to NEAR on Solana, while relayers manage routing to optimize gas costs and reduce transaction failures. Contributing to this growth, the Zashi wallet has integrated private swaps, enabling direct conversion to shielded ZEC and facilitating cross-chain payments. This integration has not only boosted Zcash's price but also improved its usability, attracting more users to the platform.