Why NEAR Protocol Jumped 16% Over the Weekend

In this news:

Key takeaways

  • NEAR Protocol's price rose 15.8% over the weekend.
  • NEAR Intents handled a record $4.8 billion in cross-chain swaps in September.
  • Traders experienced roughly $6.5 million in short liquidations in a single day.

NEAR Protocol had a busy weekend. The cryptocurrency's price rose 15.8% between 4 p.m. ET on Friday and 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

What drove NEAR Protocol's weekend rally

NEAR's blockchain network has quietly turned into a vital trading hub. NEAR Intents lets users swap assets across different blockchains, and it handled a record $4.8 billion of swaps in September. Part of the resulting fees funds NEAR token buybacks, so more trading activity means steady buying pressure.

A separate governance proposal would cut NEAR's annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% over two years. Validators still have to approve it, but lower issuance would slow the growth of the token supply.

Then the bears got caught leaning the wrong way. Traders betting against NEAR saw roughly $6.5 million of short positions forcibly closed in a single day, and every one of those exits required buying the token back. That kind of short squeeze can turn a decent rally into a sprint.

What makes NEAR Protocol different

Most blockchains act like walled gardens. Moving assets between them usually means clunky bridges, extra fees, and a nagging worry that something will break along the way. NEAR's pitch is to make the walls disappear. Its chain signatures feature lets a NEAR account sign transactions on other networks, Bitcoin included.

NEAR's weekend jump builds on a much larger run. The price has more than doubled over the past month, helped by the Sept. 29 launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF. That's the first U.S. spot exchange-traded product tracking the token.

Short squeezes tend to fade once the forced buying ends, so the Intents volume trend and the issuance vote matter more in the long run. Wednesday's U.S. Consumer Price Index report could also move risk assets, crypto included. You'll see more volatility in NEAR Protocol for a while.

Share the article:

Top Trending Cryptocurrencies on The Market

Current Price

$0.1214

7 Days
UB 7 days: +4.11%

Market Cap

$303.8M -1.51%

24h Volume

$12.0M

Supplies

10.0B / 10.0B

Current Price

$111.43

7 Days
GNO 7 days: -2.04%

Market Cap

$294.2M -0.59%

24h Volume

$712.1K

Supplies

3.0M / 3.0M

Current Price

$19.347

7 Days
OHM 7 days: -1.09%

Market Cap

$289.0M -0.22%

24h Volume

$120.0K

Supplies

19.8M / ∞

Current Price

$1.047

7 Days
PIEVERSE 7 days: -1.91%

Market Cap

$288.1M 0.80%

24h Volume

$2.3M

Supplies

1.0B / 1.0B

Current Price

$0.3162

7 Days
CARDS 7 days: +8.38%

Market Cap

$285.4M 0.23%

24h Volume

$11.4M

Supplies

2.0B / 2.0B

Current Price

$0.1137

7 Days
KITE 7 days: -5.47%

Market Cap

$272.1M 2.05%

24h Volume

$8.5M

Supplies

10.0B / 10.0B

Current Price

$0.000003032

7 Days
BONK 7 days: +4.83%

Market Cap

$267.0M -0.23%

24h Volume

$23.5M

Supplies

88.0T / 88.0T

Current Price

$0.9988

7 Days
USDAI 7 days: -0.04%

Market Cap

$261.7M -0.03%

24h Volume

$1.2M

Supplies

262.0M / ∞

Current Price

$0.05499

7 Days
Q 7 days: +127.26%

Market Cap

$259.1M -33.83%

24h Volume

$11.1M

Supplies

10.0B / 10.0B

Current Price

$0.02172

7 Days
MON 7 days: -1.76%

Market Cap

$257.1M 2.40%

24h Volume

$16.7M

Supplies

100.7B / ∞

Current Price

$0.1116

7 Days
OP 7 days: -9.7%

Market Cap

$256.9M 0.66%

24h Volume

$114.1M

Supplies

4.3B / 4.3B

Current Price

$0.04819

7 Days
CFX 7 days: -6.62%

Market Cap

$253.2M 0.22%

24h Volume

$8.2M

Supplies

5.2B / ∞

Notifications Login to see

Today

No Notifications

↑