NEAR Protocol Surges Over 100% in September Driven by AI and ETF Launch
NEAR Protocol has experienced a remarkable rally in September, fueled by strong momentum and growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The token began the month near $1.80 and surged to approximately $5.55 by September 27, closing the month at around $5.34. This represented a gain of over 100% in just two weeks, making NEAR one of the top-performing major altcoins during the period.
The rally was supported by increased derivatives activity, with NEAR's price rising about 81% between September 13 and 20, while dollar-denominated open interest increased by 119%. However, open interest measured in NEAR tokens rose by only 21%, indicating that the increase was partly driven by the token's rising dollar value rather than an expansion in underlying positions. Funding rates also reached roughly 1.6 times their two-month median, highlighting the role of leverage in the rally.
The derivatives market received a significant boost when NEAR spot trading went live on Hyperliquid on September 22-23, adding direct NEAR/USDC trading to the platform. Additionally, the launch of Bitwise's first U.S. spot NEAR ETF on September 29 attracted about $58 million in its first week. The ETF, listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR, is designed to hold NEAR directly and stake the tokens, with an annual fee of 0.75%. The ETF launch also brought attention to a Bitwise research report projecting a maximum-case estimate of $562.81 for NEAR by 2030, based on capturing about 3% of the global AI agent market.
NEAR's technical structure has become increasingly stretched, with the token pulling back toward $4.70-$5.00 after briefly reaching the $5.50-$5.55 area. As of October 6, NEAR was trading around $5.16-$5.27, with its weekly RSI near 75. The token's moving averages are substantially below its current price, highlighting how far NEAR has moved above its established trend. While the broader uptrend remains intact, the conditions make further gains more volatile.