NEAR Protocol has seen a sharp rise in price, with the token up roughly 7% over 24 hours. The move came as several positive developments reached the market at the same time. The main factors were progress on Bitwise’s spot NEAR ETF, new support through Brave Wallet, and heavy losses on short positions that helped push the price higher.
NEAR traded around the $5 level during the move and reached its highest level in about one year. The rise also came at a time when the wider crypto market was relatively calm. Bitcoin gained only about 0.6% over the same period, which shows that NEAR’s move had several token-specific drivers.
The combination of institutional access, wider ecosystem use and forced buying from traders gave NEAR a strong boost. Each factor matters for a different reason, and together they helped create a fast change in market sentiment.
Bitwise ETF Gives NEAR a Major Boost
The biggest factor behind the latest move is the progress on Bitwise’s spot NEAR ETF. On September 24, 2026, Bitwise filed a Form 8-A for the Bitwise NEAR ETF. The filing states that the shares received approval for listing on NYSE Arca. The filing also confirms that the fund is the Bitwise NEAR ETF.
This is important because a spot ETF can give investors a simpler way to gain exposure to NEAR. Instead of buying and storing the token directly, investors can buy shares of the ETF through a traditional brokerage account once the fund begins trading.
The product also has a staking feature. Bitwise plans to hold NEAR and seek additional returns through staking. The ETF has a 0.75% sponsor fee. The staking feature gives the proposed product a different structure from a simple fund that only holds the underlying asset.
The regulatory progress does not mean that the ETF has already traded on the market. It clears important steps toward a launch. Reports have pointed to a possible launch around September 29, but the filings themselves do not confirm a final trading date.
For traders, however, the regulatory progress has already changed the story around NEAR. The token now has a possible path toward greater access from traditional investors.
NEAR Moves Ahead of Bitcoin
NEAR’s rise stands out because the wider crypto market did not make a similar move at the same time. NEAR gained more than 7%, while Bitcoin rose about 0.6% over the same period. This shows that the latest move was not simply the result of a broad market rally.
The token has also had a much larger move over a longer period. One recent market report said NEAR had gained about 176% over 30 days and about 240% since the start of 2026. Its market value stood near $6.5 billion, which placed it around 22nd among cryptocurrencies by market value at the time of that report.
These figures show how quickly market interest has returned to NEAR. The ETF story has added another reason for traders to focus on the token after its earlier recovery.
Brave Wallet Adds More Use for NEAR
The ETF is not the only reason behind the move. NEAR has also gained attention after new work with Brave Wallet.
Brave Wallet is built into the Brave browser and lets users store, manage, swap and send digital assets. It also supports multi-chain activity and connections with Web3 applications.
Recent Brave updates have added support for private cross-chain transfers through NEAR’s Confidential Intents. The update also added native Polkadot support. This gives NEAR technology a direct role in the way users move assets across different blockchain networks.
Another recent development involved Brave Wallet and NEAR Intents. The technology can allow users to make cross-chain swaps without the usual need to choose bridges or manage gas across several networks. The development also connects Brave’s Leo AI system with NEAR AI technology.
Brave has a large user base, so the connection gives NEAR greater exposure beyond the usual crypto trading crowd. The bigger point is not just the number of users. It is the practical use of NEAR technology inside a product that people can access through a familiar browser.
Why NEAR Intents Matter
NEAR has spent much of its recent development on chain abstraction and cross-chain transactions. The basic idea is simple. Users should be able to move assets across different blockchain networks without having to understand every technical step behind the transaction.
NEAR Intents are part of that approach. They can help users interact with different networks while the system handles much of the complex process in the background.
The Brave connection gives this idea a real use case. If users can swap assets across chains with fewer technical steps, the underlying NEAR infrastructure can handle more activity without users having to focus on the blockchain details.
This also supports the wider story around NEAR and artificial intelligence. NEAR has promoted itself as a platform for AI agents, chain abstraction and user-owned AI systems. Brave’s use of NEAR technology gives that story a practical example rather than leaving it only as a market narrative.
Short Sellers Add More Fuel
Another important part of the price rise came from the derivatives market. Some large traders had short positions against NEAR, and the rapid rise in price put those positions under pressure.
Recent on-chain data showed two addresses with a combined short position of about 8.635 million NEAR. Their average entry prices were around $2.31 and $2.55. With NEAR near $5.23, their combined unrealized losses were reported at about $25.89 million. One of the addresses had already closed part of its position and realized about $1.77 million in losses.
When a short position loses too much, the trader may have to buy the asset to close the position. That creates more buying pressure. If many traders face the same problem at once, the price can rise faster.
This is known as a short squeeze.
Reports also showed short liquidations during earlier NEAR price jumps. One market report said about $70,000 in short positions were liquidated during a four-hour move from $4.83 to $5.12 on September 26.
The effect can become self-reinforcing. A rise hurts short sellers, forced buying pushes the price higher, and the higher price can trigger more liquidations.
Futures Activity Shows Strong Trader Interest
The derivatives market has also seen a major increase in activity. NEAR futures open interest reached about $1.56 billion on September 27, according to data cited by market reports. That was reported as the highest level on its chart, which goes back to late 2023.
High open interest means there is a large amount of active futures exposure around the token. That can increase both upside and downside volatility.
This matters because the current rally is not based only on buyers who plan to hold NEAR for the long term. A large derivatives market means many traders are also using leverage. As a result, even a relatively small price move can lead to much larger buying or selling pressure.
What the Latest Move Means for NEAR
The latest 7% rise has several parts. The ETF development gives NEAR a possible new route toward traditional investment. The Brave Wallet connection gives its technology more real-world exposure. The short squeeze adds a market-based reason for the sudden speed of the move.
These factors are different, but they work together.
The ETF story can attract new attention from investors. The Brave integration can support the case for greater use of NEAR technology. At the same time, traders with short positions can add extra buying pressure when the price rises quickly.
That does not mean every part of the rally will last at the same pace. Short squeezes can end once forced buying fades. ETF excitement can also cool if actual demand after launch is weaker than traders expect.
For that reason, future NEAR price action will depend on more than the headline move. The market will likely watch the ETF launch, actual fund demand, trading volume, network use and derivatives positions.
A New Phase for NEAR
NEAR’s latest rally shows how several types of market news can come together at once. The token has gained about 7% in 24 hours, while its longer-term recovery has been much larger.
The Bitwise ETF has brought institutional access into the discussion. Brave Wallet has added another use case for NEAR’s cross-chain technology. At the same time, large short positions have helped create extra buying pressure as the token moved higher.
For now, these developments have placed NEAR back at the center of crypto market attention. The next stage will show whether the recent strength can hold after the ETF excitement and short-covering activity settle down.
