NEAR Protocol [NEAR] is testing whether the first U.S. spot ETF listing can turn its September rally into a fresh leg higher. Price action for NEAR was boosted further to levels around $5.10 because of the ETF’s listing. However, since the peak at $5.57, the price has been declining.
This reaction matters because NEAR Protocol had already shifted from a strong uptrend into a $4.60–$5.57 range. This left buyers with a defined level of resistance.
The rising volume of trade over the last couple of days at around $1.2-1.3 billion indicates that the ETF listing has generated a significant amount of interest rather than a quiet rally.
Despite that momentum, the broken trend line signifies that the previous rally has lost its structure. Hence, a sustained amount of volume is now required. If demand continues to exist, then there is potential for NEAR to once again test $5.57.
However, if volume begins to fade, then the ETF impact may be short-lived and may expose $4.60.
NEAR gains a new institutional channel
NEAR is developing another demand source, with Bitwise’s NEAR ETF under the ticker (NRR) creating regulated U.S. access to the token. The first session saw approximately $35.99 million in net inflows into the fund, resulting in total assets of roughly $36.5 million.
Beyond the immediate price action, this will matter since each ETF creation requires the trust to purchase actual NEAR. These purchases are likely to transition demand away from crypto exchanges to a regulated investment product.
Meanwhile, NRR intends to have 100% of all NEAR held by it be used for staking. Further, gross staking rewards are near 4.9%, while net rewards are near 3.3%.
As such, larger inflows may result in both increasing ETF assets and growing staked supply. Therefore, ongoing ETF creations will support NEAR’s longer-term demand profile, while fading inflows will ultimately limit the long-term potential of the NRR.
NEAR’s Intents sustains network activity
NEAR’s Intents activity, by itself, provides additional evidence of the ETF entering a space where there is established interest in such a product.
Lifetime volume has reached $32.79 billion, while $1.17 billion moved over seven days. Additionally, the most recent 24-hour volume hit $213.7 million. Also, there are 36 supported chains within 202 total assets.
This will provide NEAR some degree of access to markets beyond its native network.
Furthermore, the $51.5 million in generated fees from this activity clearly demonstrates that these activities generate tangible economic activity.
If the current level of sustained activity by users continues, then the base of adopters for NEAR may increase. This would thereby reduce their dependence on ETF-driven demand as the rally develops.
