NEAR token soared by 15 percent over the past 24 hours, climbing to $2.8 and doubling its price over the last month. This latest surge, reflected in data platforms such as CryptoAppsy, has made NEAR a central focus for cryptocurrency investors seeking rapid gains in a volatile market.
NEAR Intents drive volume and investor interest
A key factor behind NEAR’s rally is the growing success of NEAR Intents, a system designed to streamline transactions across different blockchains. NEAR Intents allows users to specify the outcome they want, while third-party solvers automatically complete the transactions in the background. For example, a user wishing to swap USDC from the Ethereum network for SOL on Solana can now have the transaction seamlessly processed without manual intervention.
Mini glossary: Resharding refers to a process in blockchain networks where, as demand increases, the network automatically divides itself into new shards. This helps the network use its capacity more efficiently during periods of high activity.
According to data from DefiLlama, NEAR Intents has processed over $19 billion in transaction volume so far, generating $32 million in fees. These figures have brought renewed attention to the NEAR protocol after a long stretch of relative stagnation.
Arthur Hayes and accelerating returns
Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder, recently called NEAR one of the “holy trinity” of crypto assets—alongside Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and ZEC—on his social media account. Hayes suggests that NEAR’s upward momentum may not be over yet, hinting at further potential ahead.
In his social media post, Arthur Hayes named NEAR, HYPE, and ZEC among the most notable crypto assets, emphasizing there is “still room left in the rally.”
Interest in tokens tied to AI and blockchain infrastructure contributed an extra 30 percent boost to NEAR earlier this month. At the same time, metrics indicate a significant rise in institutional involvement.
Institutional inflows and upcoming network upgrade
The Bitwise NEAR Staking ETP, traded in Europe, has grown close to $40 million in assets, with $7 million in net inflows over the past week, reflecting rising institutional appetite. In June, NEAR is set to introduce dynamic resharding, a network upgrade that will enable the chain to split itself into new shards automatically as user demand rises. This upgrade is expected to provide greater scalability, easing transaction bottlenecks during peak periods.
Despite recent gains, NEAR remains well below its all-time high of around $20 reached in 2022. Even with renewed attention, the token has not yet approached its previous record levels.
What is NEAR Protocol?
NEAR is a layer-1 blockchain network focusing on decentralized applications, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and cross-chain transactions. The network uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and aims to facilitate large-volume transfers between different blockchains quickly and efficiently. Leveraging sharding technology, NEAR prioritizes scalability and broad user participation by allowing more simultaneous transactions.
