Cryptocurrency Analysts Expect NEAR To Soar

NEAR, the native token of Near Protocol, continued its upward momentum, increasing by 2.3% over the past 24 hours to trade at $5.21.

Data from TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $3.41 on September 6, NEAR surged by 57%, reaching an eight-week high of $5.36 on September 24.

Several factors have contributed to NEAR’s recent strength, including the implementation of blockchain sharding on the Near Protocol, rising open interest in futures markets, an increasing total value locked (TVL), and a stronger market structure.

Near Protocol, a community-driven cloud computing platform known for its interoperability and fast transaction speeds, has introduced sharding on its network.

Sharding addresses the blockchain trilemma by enhancing scalability and security without sacrificing decentralization.

Following the NEAR 2.0 update on August 12, the platform became the second blockchain, after Elrond (EGLD), to implement sharding in production.

This development positions Near Protocol for sustained long-term growth as demand for decentralized applications (DApps) increases.

Compared to Ethereum, Near Protocol offers a more efficient and scalable solution with lower transaction fees, with sharding playing a key role in this advantage.

NEAR’s price surge is also linked to its recent partnership between Nvidia and Alibaba Cloud, which focuses on advancing the autonomous driving industry in China.

AI-themed tokens, including NEAR, tend to respond positively to significant announcements from Nvidia, and this instance was no exception.

Another factor contributing to AI-related tokens’ growth came from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who recently hinted at creating "an opportunity economy" for AI and digital assets in the U.S.

This marked Harris' first public comment on the crypto industry.

The increase in network activity and adoption of projects on Near Protocol has also played a role in NEAR’s price rise over the past month.

According to NearBlocks.io, daily transactions on the platform grew by 42% between August 25 and September 24, while the number of new addresses increased by 30.8%, reflecting the growing adoption of Near Protocol.

This boost in network activity has resulted in greater user engagement, leading to a 34% increase in TVL, rising from $183.7 million on September 7 to $246.5 million on September 24, as per data from DefiLlama.

The growing TVL signifies increasing activity and interest within the Near Protocol ecosystem, with more users depositing or utilizing assets on NEAR-based protocols.

Additionally, data from CoinGlass shows that NEAR’s open interest (OI) rose from $114.9 million on September 7 to $279.2 million by September 24, its highest level since June 7. This increase suggests that new capital is entering the market, fueling fresh buying activity.

NEAR’s upward movement also saw it break above a descending trendline on September 23.

It closed above several key moving averages, including the 50-day EMA at $4.40, the 100-day EMA at $4.75, and the 200-day EMA at $4.87, which had acted as resistance since mid-June.

The relative strength index (RSI) sitting at 70 indicates that buyers currently have control of the NEAR market.

The bulls are now expected to target pushing the price higher, aiming for $6 and possibly the range high of $6.45.

On the other hand, if the price closes below the 50-day EMA at $4.40, it would create a lower low on the daily chart, invalidating the bullish outlook.

In this scenario, bears could drive the price down by an additional 32%, retesting the September 6 low of $3.50.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-reasons-why-near-protocol-near-has-gained-50-in-a-month

https://www.tradingview.com/x/NDAFetIR/

https://x.com/Justin_Bons/status/1838243936411812158

https://docs.nvidia.com/ai-enterprise/deployment-guide-cloud/0.1.0/alibaba-overview.html

https://www.tradingview.com/x/pquzBjKE/