NEAR Price Jumps on Zcash Swap Traffic Surge Through Its Cross-Chain Infrastructure

The price of NEAR rose by 23% to trade above $4 on Monday due to increased Zcash swap traffic through its cross-chain infrastructure, NEAR Intents. The service allows users to swap native assets like ETH and BTC directly into native ZEC in a single transaction, making it more accessible for users who want shielded assets. With the Grayscale ETF conversion and Zcash breaking past $1,300 towards $1,500, investor interest in Zcash surged, causing a sixfold increase in daily ZEC volume routed through NEAR Intents over the past week.

NEAR Intents processed more than $5 billion in cumulative volume since its launch, with over $29.3 billion in total and roughly $842 million in the trailing seven days. The service's usage increased significantly after consumer wallets like ZODL and Vizor integrated it to offer Zcash swaps.

While the surge in routing volume may seem significant, it doesn't necessarily translate to revenue for NEAR holders. The network captured only about $95,220 in total fees over a recent 24-hour period against roughly $38 million in DEX volume, according to DefiLlama. Analysts caution that Intents usage does not guarantee NEAR demand.