1. Sharding Implementation Enhances NEAR’s Scalability
2. Increased Network Activity and TVL Growth
3. NEAR Futures Open Interest Shows Bullish Market Sentiment

NEAR Protocol has been making significant strides in the cryptocurrency space, with its native token experiencing a notable price surge. NEAR’s value has risen by 57% from its September 6 low of $3.41, reaching an eight-week high of $5.36 by September 24. Currently, NEAR is trading at $5.26, indicating continued bullish momentum.

Sharding Implementation Enhances NEAR’s Scalability

One of the key drivers behind NEAR Protocol’s recent price performance is the successful implementation of sharding through the NEAR 2.0 update. Completed on August 12, this update allows the NEAR network to handle more transactions by splitting them across multiple node groups, a process known as sharding. This makes NEAR one of only two blockchains, after Elrond, to achieve sharding in production. Sharding addresses the blockchain trilemma by increasing scalability without compromising security or decentralization. With this improvement, NEAR Protocol has positioned itself as a faster, more scalable, and lower-cost option for decentralized applications, making it highly competitive with other platforms like Ethereum.

Increased Network Activity and TVL Growth

Recent on-chain data shows substantial growth in NEAR’s network activity, further boosting confidence in its ecosystem. Between August 25 and September 24, daily transactions on NEAR rose by 42%, and new address creation increased by 30.8%. This surge in network activity has also resulted in a 34% rise in the total value locked (TVL) on NEAR-based decentralized applications. The TVL has grown from $183.7 million on September 7 to $246.5 million on September 24, indicating that more users are utilizing NEAR’s blockchain for various decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

NEAR Futures Open Interest Shows Bullish Market Sentiment

Another factor contributing to NEAR’s bullish momentum is the rising open interest (OI) in NEAR futures contracts. Derivatives data from Coinglass shows that OI has increased from $114.9 million on September 7 to $279.2 million by September 24. This suggests growing interest from traders and an influx of new capital into the market, which often signals potential for further price growth. From a technical perspective, NEAR’s price action is showing strong upward momentum. The token has broken above its descending trendline and is now trading above key moving averages, including the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs). The relative strength index (RSI) for NEAR is currently at 70, indicating that buyers are firmly in control. Analysts are watching key resistance levels at $6 and the June high of $6.45. A break above these levels could further strengthen the bullish outlook. However, a daily close below the 50-day EMA at $4.40 would invalidate the current bullish thesis and could trigger a pullback toward the $3.50 level.

NEAR Protocol’s recent developments, including the implementation of sharding and increasing network activity, suggest that the project is well-positioned for continued growth. While the token is still down 74% from its all-time high of $20.42, its current upward trajectory, combined with increased usage and trader interest, signals potential recovery beyond the $10 mark in the near future.