TLDR
- NEAR rose over 45% in three days, hitting $3.45 on September 18
- Confidential perpetual trading launched via Hyperliquid integration, hiding position details from public view
- NEAR Intents supports deposits from 35+ blockchains with a privacy layer built in
- A “Push to $3.33” incentive program locked 333,333 milestone tokens, redeemable when NEAR’s 3-day VWAP hits $3.33
- NEAR Intents generated $5.01 million in total fees over the past 30 days, retaining $1.58 million in net revenue
NEAR Protocol’s price climbed from $2.34 on September 15 to $3.45 on September 18, a gain of over 45% in three days. Trading volume jumped 120% to $1.24 billion in 24 hours, and the market cap rose from roughly $3.22 billion to $4.46 billion.
The rally was driven by a combination of product launches, an incentive program, and real on-chain activity.
NEAR launched confidential perpetual trading on its platform, powered by Hyperliquid. Users can open leveraged positions up to 40x across more than 50 markets, with trade details kept off the public ledger by default.
Positions, entry prices, and trade direction are hidden inside NEAR’s private shard. This means outside observers cannot see what a user is trading, how much, or when.
The system is built on NEAR Intents, a cross-chain trading protocol that routes trades between over 35 blockchains. Users do not need to manually move assets between wallets before trading.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe commented on the price action, saying the chart on $NEAR looked strong and that it was “just a matter of time” before NEAR reached $5, noting the token was approaching a key resistance level.
Absolutely phenomenal chart on $NEAR.
Sure, it's at the final point of resistance, but given the fact that $ZEC is acting in the way that it is.
It's just a matter of time until this will reach $5. pic.twitter.com/mYJpJBE3A0
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) September 17, 2026
The Push to $3.33 Incentive Program
Near.com launched an incentive program called [email protected], which distributed 333,333 milestone tokens to users who held more than $100 in a confidential account and completed at least one confidential swap.
These tokens cannot be sold yet. They convert to NEAR at a 1:1 ratio only if the three-day volume-weighted average price reaches or stays at $3.33. At that price, the reward pool is worth roughly $1.11 million.
The design keeps selling pressure low. Unlike typical airdrops, users cannot claim and immediately dump tokens. The price must hold, not just spike briefly.
Whale Activity and Protocol Revenue
On September 9, a group of dormant wallets became active, buying $33.37 million in ETH via CowSwap, then converting 2,500 ETH into 6,601 ZEC through NEAR Intents. The total service fee paid was 16.75 ETH, about $42,000.
That transaction showed real demand for NEAR’s privacy features among large traders looking to avoid front-running.
NEAR Intents has generated $5.01 million in total fees over the past 30 days. The protocol kept $1.58 million in net revenue, funded through front-end fees, quote improvement, and partner integrations rather than traditional gas fees.
On September 17, near.com confirmed that total value locked in Secret Mode crossed $70 million, and the first snapshot of the incentive program was completed.
Hyperliquid, which handles the derivatives execution behind NEAR’s confidential trading, processed roughly $240 billion in perpetual volume over the past 30 days. Kraken’s parent company, Payward, also announced plans to launch on-chain perpetuals via Hyperliquid for U.S. customers.
