Key Highlights
- NEAR Protocol climbed 26.52% within 24 hours, hitting approximately $2.19 and topping the AI token category
- Short liquidations totaling $5.8 million occurred following a squeeze at the $1.72 level
- The token breached a long-term descending trendline not seen broken since 2024’s cycle peak
- Strong NVIDIA earnings with 85% annual revenue expansion lifted sentiment across AI-focused cryptocurrency projects
- Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe identified NEAR as displaying one of the strongest bullish formations in the market
NEAR Protocol experienced a dramatic 26.52% price increase over a 24-hour period on Friday, climbing to approximately $2.19. This performance positioned NEAR as the leading gainer among artificial intelligence-related digital assets during that trading session.
The sharp upward movement originated from a short squeeze that developed at the $1.72 resistance zone. Approximately $5.8 million worth of short positions faced liquidation, propelling the price more than 70% higher from its monthly bottom near $1.25.
Trading volume for NEAR surged to $825 million across the 24-hour window, representing a 124% spike. The token’s market capitalization expanded to $2.84 billion.
NEAR’s performance eclipsed all competing AI-focused tokens throughout the day. Worldcoin recorded a 9.94% gain, FET climbed 8.42%, while Internet Computer posted a 3.31% increase. NEAR’s advantage over the second-best AI token exceeded 15 percentage points.
When NVIDIA disclosed its Q1 FY2027 financial results on May 20, the data revealed 85% revenue growth year-over-year alongside $81.6 billion in quarterly revenue. The semiconductor giant simultaneously authorized $80 billion for share repurchases and increased its dividend payment. These developments strengthened overall market sentiment surrounding AI infrastructure, extending to decentralized artificial intelligence initiatives such as NEAR.
NEAR’s privacy-focused AI capabilities operate on NVIDIA-supported Trusted Execution Environments, removing sensitive information before transmitting queries to language models including ChatGPT and Claude. The platform’s emphasis on the “Agentic Web,” enabling AI agents to manage payments, identity verification, and cross-blockchain operations, helped distinguish it amid the current market dynamics.
NEAR additionally reduced its yearly inflation metric from 5% down to 2.5% in recent months. The protocol now allocates fee revenue toward NEAR token buyback programs.
Technical Breakout
NEAR successfully penetrated a multi-year descending trendline, marking the first breakthrough since the 2024 cycle peak. Open interest advanced beyond $473 million, signaling new capital flowing into the asset.
$NEAR still a great move, this one has held up better than most other coins. I think that this is still 1 of the best coins on the market pic.twitter.com/robzqHwmPV
— Altcoin Sherpa (@AltcoinSherpa) May 21, 2026
Technical analyst DonWedge highlighted a descending wedge pattern on May 7, establishing a $3.00 technical projection. He publicly validated the breakout on May 21. Elliott Wave projections from More Crypto Online identify Fibonacci extension levels at $2.30, $2.50, and $2.87. Multiple short-term moving averages spanning 10, 20, 30, and 50 periods all generate buy indicators.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe characterized NEAR as presenting “one of the most bullish charts in the ecosystem,” noting that sustained price action above $1.40 supports his continuation thesis. He referenced NEAR’s revenue expansion and the functionality of NEAR Intents as fundamental drivers behind his perspective. Altcoin Sherpa similarly endorsed the token, labeling it “still one of the best coins on the market.”
One of the most bullish charts in the ecosystem: $NEAR.
Resilient despite the recent correction on the markets, price already rallies towards new highs.
As long as this stays above $1.40, I would assume that there’s continuation on the board.
I remain to be expecting a $2.00… pic.twitter.com/mFzn0L8ZkV
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) May 19, 2026
On-Chain Activity Lags
While price momentum remains strong, on-chain metrics present a contrasting narrative. Daily active addresses declined from nearly 3 million earlier in the year to approximately 266,000 currently. This downturn accelerated following April without showing signs of reversal.
Critical resistance levels are positioned between $2.80 and $3.25. A weekly closing price above this zone could establish a trajectory toward $4.50 and higher targets. Support levels are located at $2.20, with additional floors at $1.80 and $1.50 beneath that.
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