NEAR Protocol news

Crypto market rebounded to $4.15 trillion after the Fed trimmed rates by 25 basis points. Bitcoin hovered near $116,000, Cardano rose 5% and NEAR surged 15%. The rally followed the Fed's 4.00‑4.25% rate cut and a hint of two additional cuts. Gold climbed to about $3,700 an ounce, reflecting safe‑haven demand. Bitcoin consolidates near $118,000, with an RSI of 58 and ADX of 19 indicating modest bullish momentum but no clear trend; Cardano’s RSI of 56 and widening EMA gap signal upside, while NEAR’s overbought RSI of 70 and rising ADX hint at a reversal or new impulse. The market’s neutral fear‑and‑greed index and 70% of coins correcting after gains leave room for further volatility, underscoring cautious optimism.

After a bullish week, the weekend will test whether crypto’s rally can hold. Near Protocol surged 13% to $3.20 and its RSI above 70 signals overbought; a reversal could push it to $3.06 or $2.70, while breaking $3.34 resistance might lift it to $3.60. Optimism faces a 116‑million‑token unlock worth about $96 million; at $0.838 above $0.812 support, a sell‑off could drag the price to $0.760, while a bullish run could lift it past $0.875 toward $0.909. Pump.fun trades at $0.0075 above its $0.0074 support; a bounce could reignite a climb toward its $0.0090 all‑time high, but failure to hold the support risks a dip to $0.0062. Thus the weekend will be a decisive barometer for these altcoins, with support levels and market sentiment dictating whether they rally or reverse.

NEAR Protocol founder Illia Polosukhin and Infinex founder Kain Warwick revealed in a fireside chat how the two platforms are collaborating to simplify decentralized finance. In June Infinex integrated NEAR Intents and Chain Signatures, allowing users to swap and bridge non‑smart‑contract coins such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and XRP across networks without opening multiple wallets. Polosukhin said the goal is to eliminate fragmentation so anyone can use any app with any cryptocurrency, mirroring the seamless experience of exchanging money at an airport. Warwick announced Infinex Connect, an SDK that plugs cross‑chain accounts into third‑party dapps, giving users familiar exchange‑style tools inside a single interface. The executives also discussed surviving market cycles, noting that institutional interest and traditional‑finance dynamics are prolonging the current bull run. Both leaders are optimistic that improved interoperability will spur wider adoption and drive the DeFi ecosystem toward mainstream use.

A coalition of NEAR Protocol stakeholders has tabled a proposal to halve the network’s token inflation, reducing the annual rate from 5% to 2.5% in an effort to curb dilution and boost long‑term sustainability. The plan argues that the original inflation schedule was predicated on high fee burns that never materialised, with only 0.1% of the supply burned last year, causing an annual increase of over 60 million NEAR. The proposal would also cut staking rewards from 9% to 4.5%, aiming to make NEAR‑based DeFi more competitive while recognising that some validators may depart. Support has come from NEAR co‑founder Illia Polosukhin and Electric Capital co‑founder Avichal Garg, who highlight lower emissions and fee‑driven revenue as essential. With just 13.36% of the two‑thirds threshold met, the vote is pending; approval would roll out by Q3 2025.

Bitwise Asset Management filed a Form S‑1 with the SEC to launch a Bitwise NEAR ETF, following the April 24 trust registration in Delaware. The ETF would track the price of NEAR, the native token of the NEAR Protocol, using a pricing benchmark from the CF NEAR‑Dollar Settlement Price. Coinbase Custody Trust Company will act as custodian, handling storage, transfers, and account management. The filing did not change NEAR’s market price, which edged down about 0.8% to roughly $2.30, with a market cap near $2.8 billion. Bitwise already offers Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and is pursuing several other altcoin products, but the SEC has delayed decisions on many crypto ETFs, pushing deadlines to mid‑June 2025. The move signals a broader strategy to bring mainstream Wall Street exposure to layer‑one blockchains amid a cautious regulatory climate.

Digital asset manager Bitwise filed a Form S‑1 with the U.S. SEC to launch a spot Near (NEAR) ETF, naming Coinbase Custody as the proposed custodian but leaving the ticker, management fee and listing exchange unspecified. The company will also file a Form 19B‑4 after registering a Delaware trust linked to the fund on April 28, initiating the SEC’s review. The filing joins a growing list of spot crypto ETFs on the SEC’s docket, with applications already pending for Litecoin, Dogecoin, Solana, Ripple, and Bitcoin, which has an approved spot product. NEAR, the layer‑1 token behind the Near blockchain, is the 44th largest cryptocurrency by market cap at about $2.7 billion. The Near ecosystem has shifted toward AI infrastructure in 2024, announcing plans to build the world’s largest open‑source large‑language model. Approval of the ETF could broaden institutional access to NEAR and affect its liquidity and valuation.

Digital asset manager Bitwise has filed a Form S‑1 with the SEC to launch a spot Near (NEAR) exchange‑traded fund, naming Coinbase Custody as the prospective custodian while leaving the fund’s management fee, ticker, and exchange unspecified. The company plans to submit the required 19(b)-4 filing after registering a Delaware trust linked to the ETF on April 28. This filing adds NEAR to a growing docket of at least a dozen spot crypto ETFs awaiting approval, including applications for Litecoin, DOGE, SOL, XRP and an already‑approved Bitcoin ETF. NEAR, the layer‑1 blockchain that ranks 44th in market cap at roughly $2.7 billion, promotes its sharding‑based scalability and recent pivot toward AI infrastructure development. Despite these developments, the ETF’s regulatory status remains pending as the SEC reviews the burgeoning slate of cryptocurrency funds.

Bitwise has filed the first U.S. ETF proposal for the NEAR Protocol, adding to a wave of altcoin fund applications it has pursued over recent weeks. The filing is still skeletal, and no detailed documentation has been released, so investors must wait for the SEC or Bitwise to publish the full proposal. NEAR, a Proof‑of‑Stake layer‑one blockchain aimed at dApp development, has been quiet in 2025 but its price gained over 25% in the last two weeks, independent of the ETF filing. The new ETF would join a crowded market that already includes DOGE, APT, XRP, and combined BTC‑ETH products, raising concerns about diminishing returns for investors. If approved, the NEAR ETF could renew interest in the protocol, but the crowded landscape may blunt its long‑term impact.

Bitwise has filed paperwork in Delaware to launch an exchange‑traded fund that would mirror the price of Near Protocol’s native token, NEAR. Near, a developer‑focused blockchain that competes with Ethereum and Solana, ranks 41st in global market capitalization and has seen its price rise more than 3% to about $2.61 after the filing. The Delaware filing is only the preliminary step; Bitwise must still submit a petition to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for formal approval. The move follows a surge of alt‑coin ETF applications following the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum funds last year. Other managers are also seeking approval for funds tied to Solana, XRP, Dogecoin and other niche tokens. Bitwise has not yet responded to inquiries about the filing.

Bitwise Asset Management registered a trust called Bitwise NEAR ETF on April 24 to begin a U.S. spot ETF for NEAR Protocol’s native token. The fund would track NEAR, a $3.1 billion market‑cap token that has risen over 6.5 % in 24 hours and more than 26 % in a week. This filing is the first U.S. attempt to launch a NEAR‑focused ETF, potentially expanding institutional exposure to the protocol. Bitwise has also set up trusts for Dogecoin and Aptos and may file an S‑1 with the SEC soon. The move follows SEC extensions for other altcoin ETFs, a delay on Bitwise’s Bitcoin‑Ethereum ETF until June 10, and a review of 72 digital‑asset proposals, reflecting a shift toward broader crypto acceptance.