Key Takeaways
NEAR Protocol’s native token (NEAR) gained 11% over the past 24 hours, driven by a record holder count and a surge in leveraged bets from bullish traders.
Data from derivatives analytics firm CoinGlass shows Open Interest in NEAR futures jumped approximately 20% to $300 million in the 24 hours leading up to 22:00 UTC on May 19. An estimated $60 million in new leveraged positions were opened during that period, with OI-Weighted Funding Rate data confirming the majority came from traders betting on further price increases.
The move was supported by fundamental growth, as the number of NEAR holders reached an all-time high of 11,720, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Protocol transaction activity also hit a recent peak of 209 million, with 87 million of those being private transactions, the NEAR team posted on X.
With bulls driving positioning in both derivatives and spot markets—where net inflows reached $10.48 million over six days—the key test for NEAR is whether it can sustain this momentum and convert the speculative interest into a stable price floor above its current level.
The growing number of token holders points to increasing investor confidence in the protocol, which is positioning itself as a key player in the AI sector. CoinMarketCap currently ranks NEAR as the second-largest asset in the AI category, with a market capitalization of $19.49 billion. This has made it a bellwether for AI-related crypto projects, attracting capital from investors looking for exposure to the narrative, a trend also seen in AI-related semiconductor stocks like Nvidia.
Community sentiment appears to align with the bullish on-chain data. An aggregate of investor votes on CoinMarketCap showed 94% of over 147,500 participants expect the token’s price to continue rising.
The surge in Open Interest to $300 million indicates a significant influx of capital into NEAR’s perpetual futures market. The dominance of long positions suggests traders are confident that the rally has further to run. This contrasts with recent activity in Bitcoin and Ethereum, where funding rates have been more neutral amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Spot markets have followed the derivatives trend. Data shows a consistent net inflow to spot exchanges over four consecutive days. In the last 24 hours alone, net purchases amounted to $454,000, contributing to a cumulative six-day spot net inflow of approximately $10.48 million. The coordinated buying across both leveraged and spot markets suggests a firmly bullish outlook on NEAR’s price direction in the near term.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
