TLDR
- NEAR Protocol (NEAR) trades near $4.97, up about 2.3% on the day after a pullback from nearly $6.
- The Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) is heading toward a third straight week of positive flows.
- The Sunrise partnership brought about $11.4 million in NEAR trading volume on Solana on launch day.
- NEAR Intents has processed more than $32 billion in volume, with confidential TVL near $166.9 million.
- Analyst Michaël van de Poppe says the correction may be over if NEAR holds $4.80.
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is trading around $4.97 on Oct. 18, up about 2.3% on the session. The token is bouncing back from this week’s broader crypto selloff.
NEAR opened near $4.86 and reached an intraday high around $5.09. It held above $4.82 before settling just under $5.
The token is still well above its August lows. It remains inside a broader rising structure, even after pulling back from nearly $6.
NEAR Chart Analysis
The daily chart shows a strong run from around $1.60 in August. NEAR pushed through the $3.00 to $3.40 resistance zone in September, then moved fast toward $5 and $6.
The first level on the chart is $5.00. A daily close above it would put $5.40 to $5.60 back in view, with $5.90 to $6.00 as the key resistance above that.
A rising trendline sits near $4.00 to $4.20 and looks intact. RSI is at 53.41, just above neutral, which points to a more even balance between buyers and sellers.
MACD is still bearish in the short term. The MACD line is near 0.286, below the signal line at 0.397, and the histogram is about -0.111. Bulls need a clean close over $5 before this turns into a real push. Watch $5.00 next, with $4.50 as the first support if it fails.
Analyst Michaël van de Poppe said NEAR saw a sweep that took liquidity, which he called normal for these charts. He described the bounce as one of the strongest upward moves since then.
Clearly, this has seen a sweep to be taking liquidity.
That’s not bad, that’s how these charts move.
However, this is one of the strongest bounces upwards since then, and that’s why I think that the correction of $NEAR is going to be more shallow and is perhaps over.
If this… pic.twitter.com/cUOtA2tLoh
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 17, 2026
Van de Poppe thinks the correction in NEAR may be shallow and perhaps over. He said that if the price holds $4.80, more upward momentum could follow if markets pick up.
ETF Inflows and Ecosystem Growth
Institutional demand remains one of NEAR’s main stories. The Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) has drawn capital since it launched in late September.
Recent reports showed another $1.13 million in daily inflows. The fund is heading toward a third week of positive flows.
Bitwise said NEAR Intents had processed more than $32 billion in volume when the ETF launched. A year earlier, the figure was under $1 billion.
The fund also plans to stake its NEAR holdings. That gives investors exposure to both the token and staking rewards.
NEAR also partnered with Sunrise to build liquid markets for NEAR Intents assets on Solana. Launch day data showed about $11.4 million in NEAR trading volume on Solana.
Net inflows on Solana reached about $819,000 that day. The deal links NEAR’s Intents infrastructure with one of the largest crypto trading ecosystems.
The network also grew its Multi-Party Computation network to 17 independent mainnet operators. A new proposal would add network-funded incentives for that infrastructure.
NEAR Intents confidential TVL recently reached about $166.9 million. Cumulative Intents volume has moved above $32 billion.
For now, $5.00 is the level in focus. The larger upside test is $5.90 to $6.00, and a break above it would set a new 2026 high.
