NEAR Protocol (NEAR) Explodes 90% Following Arthur Hayes Endorsement and Strong Fundamentals

Key Takeaways

• NEAR Protocol has surged more than 90% over the last 30 days, currently hovering near $2.80.
• Arthur Hayes, BitMEX’s co-founder, publicly endorsed NEAR along with HYPE and ZEC as his preferred altcoin selections on social media.
• The platform’s cross-chain infrastructure, NEAR Intents, has facilitated over $19 billion in transaction volume while accumulating $32 million in fees.
• Developers have scheduled a significant protocol enhancement for June 2026 that will introduce dynamic resharding capabilities.
• European investors have pushed the Bitwise NEAR Staking ETP to approximately $40 million in total assets.

NEAR Protocol has experienced remarkable momentum throughout the past four weeks. The digital asset has essentially doubled, registering approximately 90% gains to reach the $2.80 mark. This explosive performance has captured market attention after an extended period of relative dormancy earlier in the year.

The turning point came when Arthur Hayes, who co-founded BitMEX and currently manages the Maelstrom family office fund, shared his investment perspective on X. Hayes declared that $HYPE, $ZEC, and $NEAR constitute his “holy trinity” of alternative cryptocurrency investments. His accompanying message stated: “When you are in position, trading is easy, sit back and watch the number go up.”

The market’s reaction was swift and decisive. NEAR experienced an immediate 30% price spike following Hayes’ announcement. The upward trajectory has persisted, with the token initially reaching $2.30 before advancing further. While Hyperliquid and Zcash also benefited from the attention, their gains paled in comparison to NEAR’s performance.

Cryptocurrency market analyst Sjuul from AltCryptoGems highlighted this momentum on X, noting that NEAR “has been trading in beast mode lately, really outperforming the rest of the market by far.” His technical analysis identified what he termed a “massive power of 3 setup” in the price charts, indicating potential for continued appreciation provided the token maintains its current support levels.

Cross-Chain Infrastructure Shows Substantial Growth

Underlying the price action are concrete metrics demonstrating genuine platform utilization. NEAR Intents represents the ecosystem’s solution for seamless cross-chain transactions. The system enables users to specify desired outcomes — such as converting USDC on Ethereum into SOL on Solana — while independent solvers execute the trades behind the scenes.

Data compiled by DefiLlama reveals that NEAR Intents has facilitated over $19 billion in aggregate transaction volume while producing roughly $32 million in protocol fees. These performance indicators have successfully reestablished the protocol’s visibility following an extended period of muted price activity.

Institutional capital allocation has expanded simultaneously. The Bitwise NEAR Staking ETP, available to European investors, has accumulated approximately $40 million in managed assets. The product attracted $7 million in fresh capital during a single seven-day period.

Planned Protocol Enhancement Targets Network Efficiency

Market participants are monitoring the scheduled June 2026 network enhancement with considerable interest. This upgrade will implement dynamic resharding technology, an automated system designed to partition network shards in response to increasing demand. The objective centers on preserving optimal performance during traffic spikes without requiring manual adjustments.

Hayes’ investment rationale aligns closely with this technical development trajectory. He has positioned NEAR as a scalability-focused opportunity, complementing Hyperliquid for decentralized exchange functionality and Zcash for privacy-centric transactions.

Despite the impressive rally, NEAR remains significantly below its 2022 high near $20. Current trading activity places the token around $2.80, representing gains exceeding 90% across the most recent 30-day window.

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