NEAR Soars 29% in Seven Days Amid Ondo Finance Token Launch and Zcash Trading Surge
NEAR Protocol has surged more than 29% in seven days, making it the strongest performer among the top 25 cryptocurrencies. According to CoinGecko data, NEAR is currently trading at $5.42, with a market capitalization of $7.09 billion and a rank of 21 in the overall market.
The price increase is largely attributed to the launch of Ondo Finance's tokenized US equities, ETFs, and commodity products on the NEAR blockchain on September 22. This move has brought new assets to the network, with 20 tokenized shares available, including Tesla, NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and more.
The Ondo Stocks platform has reported over $1 billion in assets under custody and over $26 billion in cumulative trading volume. However, it's essential to note that tokenized equities fall under securities law, and the MiCA crypto regulation does not cover them. This means that tax implications may vary depending on individual circumstances.
An additional driver of NEAR's price increase is the growing share of Zcash trading running through the NEAR Intents swap layer. Confidential swaps are a significant feature of this network, allowing for anonymous transactions without disclosing counterparty information. However, it's crucial to remember that confidentiality does not equate to anonymity, and all transactions are still documented by exchanges and subject to reporting duties.