1. Near Protocol Implements Sharding
2. Onchain Data Supports NEAR’s Price Surge
3. NEAR’s Strengthening Market Structure

NEAR, the native token of Near Protocol, continued its uptrend after rising by 2.3% over the last 24 hours to trade at $5.21.

Near Protocol Implements Sharding

Near Protocol, a community-run cloud computing platform focused on interoperability and quick transaction speeds, has implemented sharding on its network. Sharding addresses the blockchain trilemma by offering scalability and security without compromising decentralization. The NEAR 2.0 update, released on Aug. 12, positions Near as the second chain after Elrond to achieve sharding in production. Sharding aims to support steady, long-term growth as the demand for decentralized applications (DApps) increases. Compared to Ethereum, Near Protocol offers a faster, more scalable option with lower transaction fees, with sharding playing a crucial role in this efficiency.

Onchain Data Supports NEAR’s Price Surge

Increased network activity and growth preceded NEAR’s price performance over the past month. This is due to increased activity driven by the growing adoption of projects on Near Protocol, leading to a 42% increase in daily transaction count between Aug. 25 and Sept. 24. Similarly, the number of new addresses increased by 30.8% over the same period. The growth in network activity has led to increased total value locked (TVL) on the platform. According to DefiLlama, TVL on Near Protocol has increased by 34%, from $183.7 million on Sep. 7 to $246.5 million on Sept. 24.

NEAR’s Strengthening Market Structure

NEAR broke above the descending trendline on Sept. 23 and closed above all major moving averages, including the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $4.40, the 100-day EMA at $4.75, and the 200-day EMA at $4.87, which acted as barriers since mid-June. The relative strength index (RSI) at 70 suggests that buyers control the NEAR market. Bulls now aim to push the price toward $6 and possibly to the range high at $6.45. Conversely, a daily candlestick close below the 50-day EMA at $4.40 would create a lower low on the daily chart, potentially leading to a further decline of 32% to retest the Sept. 6 low of $3.50.

The NEAR token maintains a confident growth due to the sharding implementation and increasing network activity. Investors monitor developments and future indicators closely.