NEAR, a token linked to AI innovation, surged to $2.36 on Thursday amid solid buying interest and optimism following Bitwise’s announcement of a NEAR exchange-traded product (ETP) launch in Germany. However, as traders locked in gains, the rally cooled off, pushing prices back to find support around the $2.26 Fibonacci level.
“The NEAR Staking ETP on Xetra offers institutional investors regulated exposure to NEAR and its AI-powered ecosystem,” Illia Polosukhin explained to CoinDesk. “It allows them to earn staking rewards without dealing with private keys or maintaining infrastructure, all while ensuring price clarity.”
Despite the pullback, NEAR remains in consolidation, hinting at potential for another upward move if buying resumes.
Technical Overview
- NEAR secured firm support at $2.26, with strong trading activity observed between 2 July at 16:00 and 3 July at 15:00.
- Early on 3 July, NEAR surpassed the $2.30 barrier, reaching an intraday high of $2.36 on notable trading volume.
- The 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level has provided a cushion during the profit-taking phase, indicating that the broader bullish structure remains intact.
- A sharp drop occurred between 15:04 and 15:07 on 3 July, where trading volume exceeded 310,000 tokens in just a few minutes.
- A new support band has formed between $2.26 and $2.27, with the session closing at $2.26, pointing to lingering short-term selling pressure.
CD20 Index Sees Gains Before Late-Day Dip
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) recorded significant price swings over the same 24-hour period from 2 July at 16:00 to 3 July at 15:00, moving by $37.27 or about 2.11%. The index peaked at $1,811.11 around 14:00 on 3 July before retreating to close near $1,791.50.
Earlier in the session, the CD20 saw strong upward momentum, gaining over $21 (1.18%) from its overnight low of $1,778.85. Intense buying between 09:00 and 13:00 suggested institutional interest was driving demand, though profit-taking in the final hour trimmed those gains.
