Crypto: NEAR Hits $7.2B and Breaks Into the Top 20

NEAR has just gained about 138% in only 30 days and now joins the top 20 of the crypto market by capitalization. The token is trading around 5.50 dollars, for a valuation close to 7.2 billion. Behind this rise, NEAR Intents now exceeds 31 billion dollars in cumulative volume, while a first American spot product dedicated to NEAR has just arrived on Wall Street.

NEAR gains 138% and climbs in the crypto ranking

The movement didn’t start this week. At the end of September, NEAR had already jumped nearly 80% in seven days. The crypto was then worth about 4.29 dollars. The rise continued. NEAR is now trading around 5.50 dollars. Its progression over 30 days reaches about 138%, while its capitalization climbs to about 7.2 billion dollars.

That is enough to join the top twenty cryptocurrencies by capitalization and notably surpass Stellar. Trading activity followed. About 1.2 billion dollars worth of NEAR changed hands in 24 hours at the last count.

The comparison with the general market is quite clear. When NEAR was gaining almost 80% in one week at the end of September, the entire crypto market progressed about 6% over the same period. NEAR was already standing apart. Two weeks later, the movement still holds.

NEAR Intents now exceeds 31 billion $

The price is not the only figure to rise. NEAR Intents has just surpassed 31 billion dollars in cumulative volume. The protocol enables exchanges between multiple blockchains without requiring the user to manage all the technical steps themselves.

At the end of September, its volume was still 29.3 billion dollars. Over 1.7 billion more has therefore been processed since. The protocol did experience a serious incident in early October. About 3.8 million dollars were withdrawn from its infrastructure after a breach. The matter ended quickly: the NEAR Intents hacker returned all the funds after a 48-hour ultimatum.

The incident did not stop the crypto’s rise. NEAR is also developing its services around confidential transactions. Deposits and withdrawals linked to perpetual contract trading can notably mask the link between the funding wallet and the associated trading account.

The network is also working on AI, with services allowing the use of NEAR to access confidential inference and agent hosting. Many projects at the same time. For the market, Intents however remains the most visible figure: 31 billion dollars.

Wall Street now has direct access to NEAR

Another event happened just before the recent acceleration. On September 29, Bitwise launched the first American spot product directly exposed to NEAR. The NRR fund is now listed on the NYSE Arca, with an annual fee of 0.75%.

Investors can thus get exposure to the crypto without buying tokens directly or managing a wallet. The NEAR held by the fund are also intended for staking. Bitwise aims for network rewards in addition to price evolution, even though these yields are not guaranteed.

The launch comes at the right time. NEAR was still around 1.60 dollars at its August low. It now exceeds 5 dollars. Entering the top 20 obviously does not mean the 138% rise will continue at the same pace. After such a fast move, volatility can work both ways.

However, the current figures remain hard to ignore. 31 billion dollars on NEAR Intents. A spot product now listed in the United States. And 138% increase in one month. NEAR has just regained a place among the heavyweights of the crypto market.