Key Highlights
- NEAR Protocol has surged more than 90% over 30 days, currently hovering near $2.80.
- Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder, publicly endorsed NEAR as part of his trio of preferred altcoins alongside HYPE and ZEC.
- The NEAR Intents cross-chain protocol has facilitated over $19 billion in transaction volume with $32 million in fees collected.
- Dynamic resharding technology is set to launch in June 2026, promising enhanced network scalability.
- Bitwise’s European NEAR Staking ETP has accumulated approximately $40 million in managed assets.
NEAR Protocol’s native cryptocurrency has experienced remarkable momentum throughout the last 30 days. The digital asset has effectively doubled in valuation, recording approximately 90% appreciation to reach the $2.80 price level. This explosive movement has captured market attention after an extended period of relative dormancy earlier in 2025.
The primary spark igniting widespread interest came from Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder who now leads the Maelstrom family office fund. Hayes took to X to declare that $HYPE, $ZEC, and $NEAR constitute his preferred “holy trinity” of alternative cryptocurrency investments. His accompanying statement noted: “When you are in position, trading is easy, sit back and watch the number go up.”
Following Hayes’ public declaration, NEAR experienced an immediate 30% price spike. The upward trajectory persisted beyond the initial reaction, with the token briefly testing $2.30 before advancing to current levels. While Hyperliquid and Zcash also benefited from the endorsement, neither matched NEAR’s substantial gains.
Market analyst Sjuul from AltCryptoGems highlighted NEAR’s exceptional performance on X, observing that the token “has been trading in beast mode lately, really outperforming the rest of the market by far.” His technical analysis identified what he termed a “massive power of 3 setup” in the price charts, implying sustained bullish potential provided current support levels remain intact.
Cross-Chain Transaction System Generates Substantial Volume
Beyond speculative enthusiasm, tangible protocol utility underlies the price appreciation. NEAR Intents represents the network’s solution for cross-chain transactions, enabling users to specify desired outcomes—such as converting USDC on Ethereum into SOL on Solana—while independent solvers execute the technical details.
Data from DefiLlama indicates that NEAR Intents has facilitated more than $19 billion in aggregate transaction volume while accumulating roughly $32 million in protocol fees. This substantial on-chain activity has repositioned the protocol in investor consciousness following months of muted price action.
Institutional adoption has accelerated concurrently. The Bitwise NEAR Staking ETP, available to European investors, has grown to approximately $40 million in total assets. The product captured $7 million in fresh capital during a single seven-day period.
Network Upgrade Promises Enhanced Performance
Market participants are also monitoring the planned June 2026 protocol enhancement. This upgrade will implement dynamic resharding technology, enabling automatic partition of network shards in response to increasing demand. The objective is preserving optimal performance during high-traffic periods without requiring manual adjustments.
Hayes’ investment rationale appears synchronized with this technical development trajectory. He has positioned NEAR as a scalability-focused opportunity, complementing Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange capabilities and Zcash’s privacy features.
Notwithstanding the recent rally, NEAR remains substantially below its 2022 all-time high near $20. As of this writing, the cryptocurrency trades around $2.80, representing over 90% appreciation across the preceding 30-day window.
