NEAR Protocol's total value has risen from $6.8 billion to nearly $7.2 billion as the token saw its value increase by about 7% in 24 hours, with transaction volume exceeding $1.2 billion indicating new money flowing into the market. According to AMBCrypto, NEAR is gaining ground as rising adoption, ETF demand, and cross-chain expansion strengthen its market position, with the token recovering sharply from levels below $4 seen in September. NEAR Intents processing more than $33 billion across 35 chains continues to demonstrate strong network activity, while NEAR remains up 3x from its August low near $1.60, demonstrating significant recovery momentum from earlier lows. The difference between NEAR and Stellar's rankings is small enough that it can easily go either way depending on sustained interest in NEAR.
NEAR's third-quarter performance has attracted significant attention, with the token rising 198% in Q3, significantly outperforming Bitcoin's 43% and Ethereum's 71% gains over the same period. As reported by AMBCrypto, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan highlighted NEAR in his October 7 report, noting that the token is one of the few small caps worth watching because it has an established business that's already working. NEAR Intents hit a record $4.80 billion in monthly volume in September, representing a dramatic increase from under $500 million a year earlier and approaching the previous peak of $3.65 billion in November last year. Trading volume topped $1.26 billion during the latest rally, significantly higher than XLM's $177 million volume, while NEAR had about 1.31 billion tokens circulating compared to Stellar's 35 billion XLM.
NEAR's latest push is gaining practical dimension as Robinhood Chain plugs into its cross-chain infrastructure, enabling users to switch between one specific blockchain platform to over 180 digital assets available via 30 different blockchain platforms. According to AMBCrypto, this integration enables an intent-based approach to transfer digital assets, making it easier for users to access digital asset liquidity without needing to go through two blockchain bridges or access separate platforms. For instance, when a user wishes to exchange Ethereum [ETH] for Global Dollar [USDG], they do not need to go through two blockchain bridges or access two separate platforms to achieve this. NEAR is turning something that has previously been a purely technical aspect of blockchain technology into a product available to the public, with NEAR Intents already processing substantial cross-chain activity and Robinhood adding another potential source of flow.
Bitwise's NEAR ETF is attracting significant institutional capital, with assets reaching about $65.4 million by October 6, supported by $35.5 million in first-day inflows and another $13.2 million the next session. As reported by AMBCrypto, Bitwise president Teddy Fusaro stated that NRR ranked among the top 10 by assets under management from 107 U.S. ETFs launched in September, though there was no public data to substantiate these claims. The ETF was launched towards the end of September, with little opportunity to accumulate shares prior to the initial trading day, yet demand rose quickly rather than increasing over time. This placement provides NEAR with significant visibility to institutional investors, with continued inflows potentially increasing regulated exposure to NEAR and supporting the token's overall market presence by extending network activity.
Technical indicators have been signaling caution, with RSI dropping from above 80 to 52.7 in recent sessions, indicating the recent advance has cooled from earlier overbought conditions. As reported by AMBCrypto, MACD got bearish around the start of October, and the red bars have been getting longer since, with today's bearish MACD bar representing the biggest yet. NEAR faces resistance near $5.50-$6.00 after buyers repeatedly defended the $4.70 area during the latest correction, with $4.00-$4.60 identified as the first support area if NEAR pulls back. Daily RSI at 68.31 shows strong momentum but has moved below the conventional overbought threshold of 70, while weekly RSI at 75.5 shows strong momentum but has moved above the traditional 70 overbought threshold. NEAR needs sustained ETF inflows and network activity to extend its momentum beyond its current strong performance.
