Why Is Near Protocol Price Up By 30% Today?

Near Protocol price jumped 30% within 24 hours, reaching $3.54 during a sharp September 18 rally as trading activity intensified.

Near price briefly touched $3.53 earlier, marking its highest level in nearly one year.

The NEAR has now gained more than 100% during its recent advance, strongly outperforming other major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin price rose about 18% over the comparable period, while Ethereum recorded a gain near 28%.

Near Protocol Price Surges as Confidential Intents TVL Tops $70 Million

The biggest push behind the most recent actions was growth throughout NEAR’s confidential finance ecosystem. TVL’s (total value locked) inside Confidential Intents surpassed $70 million, with the likelihood of greater adoption and market liquidity.

This milestone triggered the reward launch, [email protected], which rewards qualifying ecosystem participants with tokens. The project successfully accomplished first Drop 1 account snapshot on 15 September.

🚨ZCASH PUMPED SO HARD THE ETF IS ALREADY SPLITTING!$ZCSH only listed on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25 and Grayscale is already doing a 3-for-1 split.

One share becomes three after Sept. 28. Value stays the same.

The cheaper share makes $ZCSH easier to buy. More buying forces the fund… pic.twitter.com/gbmoyJGR0M

— Crypto Banter (@crypto_banter) September 18, 2026

A total of 333,333 milestone tokens will be distributed among eligible users but will be locked upon distribution. For the unlock to occur it will need for the three day period, the volume weighted average Near Protocol price to be at or above $3.33.

Free Wi-Fi drove more people to wait or “freeze” their Wi-Fi tokens at the necessary price. This activity decreased supply and directly impelled demand in spot markets.

Hyperliquid-Powered Private Perpetual Trading Strengthens NEAR Demand

NEAR also launched confidential perpetual trading with Hyperliquid, providing even another use case. Traders can buy and sell leveraged positions without showing their position sizes, entry positions, or trading activity publicly.

The service leverages the use of NEAR Intents and a private shard, protecting sensitive transaction data. Users can access over 50 perpetual markets without losing control of their funds.

The deposits are available from more than 35 blockchains, without requiring the use of multiple wallets or manual bridging. The assets are moved from network-to-network by NEAR Intents, while Hyperliquid take care of the actual execution of derivatives.

The leverage at the interface is up to 40 times, making it useful for more active derivatives traders. Hyperliquid handled around $240 billion in perpetual volume over the past 30 days.

NEAR Targets $4 as Trading Volume and Market Momentum Accelerate

Near Protocol price advanced from $2.34 to around $3.45 within three days before extending its rally. Upward volume growth of more than 120% witnessed continued participation of retail and large market players.

Moreover, there are signs of increased demand as evidenced by an inflow of around $5.01 million in fee income from recent operations. 

The other element was the further improvement in market conditions after the September Federal Reserve policy decision, which removed some of the uncertainties. As Bitcoin price was nearing $77k, and the broader altcoin market rose, risk appetite returned.

The interest in tokenization also grew with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission innovation exemption statement. 

The Near price surged above $3.50 on Friday, extending its rally inside a steep four-hour ascending channel. 

Resistance is present at the channel high around $3.60, where the token finds resistance to more up-side movement. If the future NEAR outlook confirmed, a breakout could be an opportunity to $4.00 and a further extension to $4.50

The MACD was bullish with the main line above the signal line at 0.270 and 0.163 respectively. The positive histogram also indicates that momentum is expected to continue.

The RSI trended at 89, pushing Near Protocol price further into the overbought zone with a higher risk of short-term pullbacks. 

Failing to clear $3.60 could usher in profit-taking near the channel’s bottom boundary near $3.20. The current bullish setup is supported by the $3.00 region, which is the highest level of support currently on the chart.