NEAR-USD -2.02% NVDA -1.29% Trade NEAR on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
NEAR Protocol (CRYPTO:NEAR) had a busy weekend. The cryptocurrency's price rose 15.8% between 4 p.m. ET on Friday and 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
NEAR's blockchain network has quietly turned into a vital trading hub. NEAR Intents lets users swap assets across different blockchains, and it handled a record $4.8 billion of swaps in September. Part of the resulting fees funds NEAR token buybacks, so more trading activity means steady buying pressure.
A separate governance proposal would cut NEAR's annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% over two years. Validators still have to approve it, but lower issuance would slow the growth of the token supply.
Then the bears got caught leaning the wrong way. Traders betting against NEAR saw roughly $6.5 million of short positions forcibly closed in a single day, and every one of those exits required buying the token back. That kind of short squeeze can turn a decent rally into a sprint.
Most blockchains act like walled gardens. Moving assets between them usually means clunky bridges, extra fees, and a nagging worry that something will break along the way. NEAR's pitch is to make the walls disappear. Its chain signatures feature lets a NEAR account sign transactions on other networks, Bitcoin included.
NEAR's weekend jump builds on a much larger run. The price has more than doubled over the past month, helped by the Sept. 29 launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF. That's the first U.S. spot exchange-traded product tracking the token.
Short squeezes tend to fade once the forced buying ends, so the Intents volume trend and the issuance vote matter more in the long run. Wednesday's U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report could also move risk assets, crypto included. You'll see more volatility in NEAR Protocol for a while.
Before you buy stock in NEAR Protocol, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and NEAR Protocol wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,408,822!*
Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 12, 2026.
Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and NEAR Protocol. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why NEAR Protocol Jumped 16% Over the Weekend was originally published by The Motley Fool
