Key Insights:
- Near Protocol TVL goes parabolic, adds over $100 million in the last 7 days.
- Near intents were behind the surge after striking a RWA partnership with Ondo Finance.
- Privacy takes center stage as confidential intents surpass public intents in terms of TVL.
- NEAR Price pushes deep into overbought territory after delivering its most bullish week in 20 months.
Near Protocol has returned to the crypto news spotlight after previously being overshadowed by more popular peers, driven by a recent surge in network activity and a strong price reaction for the NEAR token over the past few days.
The Total Value Locked (TVL) on Near Protocol remained relatively flat until the second half of August, when it began to tick upward. Since September 16, however, the TVL metric has experienced a parabolic trajectory.
Figures from DeFiLlama indicate that Near Protocol’s TVL rose from approximately $191 million on Wednesday of last week to $350 million and above by Wednesday of this week, pointing to robust engagement.
Furthermore, this TVL expansion coincided with a sharp increase in daily fees. Weekly fees for Near Protocol reached $2 million between September 14 and September 20—nearly double the fees recorded the prior week and roughly four times the amount seen during the slowest week year-to-date.
Near Protocol Sees Spike in Intents on the Same Week as the Ondo Deal
This sudden uptick in activity highlights several recent developments within the network. Near Protocol utilizes a specialized exchange assets and data.">cross-chain transaction framework where operations are referred to as intents.
Intents represent actions executed by both human users and AI agents. The overall volume of these intents also climbed significantly over recent weeks, accompanied by an even more remarkable trend.
The quantity of confidential, or private, intents exceeded that of public intents. Specifically, on Monday, the network recorded 113.2 million confidential intents compared to 110.4 million public intents.
This development is notable because it highlights a growing emphasis on privacy in Near Protocol transactions, serving as yet another clear sign that the privacy narrative is gaining traction this year.
Building on this performance, Near Protocol may be poised for even greater network activity following a partnership integration with Ondo Finance announced on Tuesday. According to the announcement, this collaboration will introduce tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into the Near ecosystem.
NEAR Crypto Pulls Off Steep Vertical
The recent milestones achieved by Near Protocol were matched by vigorous bullish momentum surrounding its native digital asset. The NEAR token price staged a remarkable rally over the past few days.
To put this in perspective, mid-month momentum drove the price from a low of $2.29 on September 16 up to $4.8 on September 23, translating to a 110% surge in under 10 days.
Such powerful price action points to strong demand, typically catalyzed by significant events. At the time of writing, the NEAR token price has since pulled back to $4.26.
This recent price push carried NEAR to levels not witnessed since February 2025. Although it has successfully recovered losses accrued over the prior 20 months, it remains a considerable distance away from its all-time high above $20.
While this leaves room for potential future gains, the cryptocurrency was heavily overbought at the time of publication, suggesting a brief cooling-off period could be ahead.
Ultimately, the alliance between Near Protocol and Ondo Finance represents the latest in a series of positive catalysts, reinforcing the network’s alignment with major prevailing trends in the current crypto cycle.
Whether this fresh push into tokenized assets and ETFs will drive further upward momentum remains to be seen, though the network’s integration with these core sectors should continue to bolster its long-term outlook.
Frequently Asked Questions
What caused Near Protocol’s TVL to surge?
Near Protocol’s TVL went parabolic following a recent spike in network activity driven by its exchange assets and data.">cross-chain intents and a newly announced real-world asset (RWA) partnership with Ondo Finance.
What is a Near intent?
Intents are cross-chain transactions and actions performed by human users and AI agents within the Near Protocol ecosystem.
What did the Ondo Finance partnership bring to Near?
The collaboration brings tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) directly into the Near ecosystem.
How much did the NEAR crypto price rally?
Driven by robust demand, the NEAR price climbed 110% in less than 10 days, moving from a low of $2.29 on September 16 to a peak of $4.8 on September 23.
Arnold Kirimi