Near Protocol has become one of the strongest performers in the latest crypto market recovery. NEAR price has pumped roughly 90% to around $4.70, which put the token firmly back on traders’ radar after a prolonged period of weakness.
Part of that move can be attributed to improving conditions across the broader crypto market. However, NEAR also has several project-specific developments arriving at roughly the same time, including expanded trading access and a major tokenized-assets initiative.
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Hyperliquid Listing Gives NEAR Another Liquidity Venue
One possible contributor to the rally is NEAR’s addition to Hyperliquid’s spot market.
NEAR launched for spot trading against USDC on Hyperliquid on September 23, giving traders another venue to gain direct exposure to the token. This comes alongside an established NEAR perpetual futures market, which the supplied market data puts at more than $344 million in open interest.
The spot addition matters because it broadens the ways traders can access NEAR. Instead of exposure being concentrated in derivatives, users can now buy and sell the underlying token directly through the platform.
Still, a listing alone cannot explain a 90% rally. It is better viewed as one factor that may have improved accessibility and liquidity during a period when demand for NEAR was already increasing.
NEAR and Ondo Finance Target Tokenized U.S. Stocks
Another important development involves Near Protocol’s push into tokenized real-world assets.
NEAR announced a partnership with Ondo Finance that brings tokenized exposure to 20 U.S. stocks and ETFs, including assets tied to companies such as Tesla, Nvidia and Apple.
The products can be accessed through NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain transaction system. According to the information accompanying the announcement, Intents can route transactions across more than 30 blockchains without requiring users to manually move assets through conventional bridges.
This fits into a much larger narrative around tokenized traditional assets. If demand for on-chain stocks, ETFs and other real-world assets continues growing, infrastructure capable of moving users and liquidity between different networks could become increasingly valuable.
Again, that does not mean usage of NEAR Intents automatically creates equivalent demand for the NEAR token. But it does give the ecosystem another potentially important use case at a time when tokenization is receiving considerable attention across crypto.
Michaël van de Poppe Says the 90% Rally Is “Peanuts”
Despite NEAR nearly doubling, analyst Michaël van de Poppe believes the move looks considerably smaller when viewed against Bitcoin over a longer period.
His chart tracks NEAR/BTC on the daily timeframe, rather than NEAR’s dollar price. That distinction is important. It measures how NEAR performs relative to Bitcoin, showing when holding NEAR has outperformed or underperformed BTC.
The long-term picture is brutal.
NEAR/BTC reached dramatically higher levels around the 2021-2022 cycle before entering a multi-year decline. The pair eventually sank toward extremely depressed levels through 2025 and much of 2026. The latest candles finally show NEAR/BTC turning higher, with the chart reading approximately 0.00005340 BTC at the time of the screenshot.
Van de Poppe argues that the previous all-time high remains roughly 9x above the current NEAR/BTC valuation. On that basis, he described the latest rally as “peanuts compared to a real bull market.”
His chart also shows improving momentum indicators near the bottom, while NEAR/BTC has moved rapidly away from the base it spent much of 2026 forming. That is notable because NEAR is no longer merely rising alongside Bitcoin—it has recently been outperforming BTC.
But the chart also puts the scale of the previous decline into perspective. NEAR/BTC remains far below its historical peak, and being 9x below an old high does not mean the pair must return there. Previous cycle valuations can remain unrecovered for years, particularly as token supply, competition and market conditions change.
For NEAR bulls, the next important test is therefore not simply keeping the dollar price elevated. It is maintaining the recent strength against Bitcoin. If NEAR/BTC continues climbing while NEAR holds its dollar gains, the current move could develop into a much broader recovery.
After a 90% surge, NEAR is certainly no longer flying under the radar.
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