How has the course of Near Protocol (NEAR), one of the leading L1 protocols, changed?

Token issuance and DeFi boom (2021)

The Near Protocol native cryptocurrency under the ticker NEAR came to market in October 2020 — at the most opportune time, right before the alt season associated with the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) boom.

At the time of listing on exchanges, the price of the NEAR cryptocurrency was $1.69, but in November, it fell to its all-time low of $0.52.

In January 2021, the price of the NEAR cryptocurrency returned to the level it reached on the listing and continued to rise over the next four months, reaching new price highs (ATH):

• february at $4.81;
• in march at $6.93.

After the ATH update, a correction began amid a general decline in the crypto market until July 2021, when the NEAR rate fell to a six-month low of $1.71.

Then, the crypto market returned to growth, and the value of NEAR cryptocurrency also resumed its upward movement. From July to September, the price of NEAR rose 5.8 times to $9.92, renewing once again its absolute maximum. At the end of October of the same year, the NEAR cryptocurrency rate again reached a new ATH at $12.31.

Rapid growth of the Near Protocol ecosystem and correction (2022 — 2023)

After a brief correction that lasted until December 2021, the price of NEAR cryptocurrency dropped to $8.41. At the end of 2021, a new phase of Near Protocol cryptocurrency growth began, even though the overall crypto market was dominated by a negative background and the quotes of many cryptocurrencies, including the leading Bitcoin and Ethereum, were declining.

In January 2022, the value of the NEAR cryptocurrency once again hit an all-time high of $20.42. As of October 2024, this value remains at the current ATH level.

There are several reasons for NEAR's rapid growth in a falling crypto market:

1. Increased user activity in the Near Protocol ecosystem. Analysts have noted an increase in transaction volume, which an increase has followed in the price of NEAR cryptocurrency;
2. Undervaluation. Some experts believe that the NEAR cryptocurrency has been undervalued. For the most part, investors' and traders' attention was focused on leading Layer-1 blockchains such as Solana, Avalanche, and Terra. However, this has changed as early as early 2022;
3. In April 2022, Near Protocol raised $350 million, followed by a new wave of growth: after news of the second round of funding, the value of NEAR rose 35% in a week, approaching the record high of $20.4 reached earlier in January;
4. The launch of the Near Protocol ecosystem's first decentralized money marketplace, Borrow, and USN's stablecoin in April. These developments have attracted additional liquidity to the Near Protocol ecosystem.

After the price of the NEAR cryptocurrency approached its all-time high in April, the asset's value began to plummet, and by May 2022, it had almost halved to $11.28.

After a slight pullback, the decline intensified in early May amid the collapse of the infamous Terra platform. As a result, by June of the same year, the price of NEAR cryptocurrency fell to $3.50 — about 5.8 times relative to its all-time high.

The NEAR rate correction continued until October 2023, as with most other cryptocurrencies, amid the general downward trend in the crypto market. As a result, the value of NEAR cryptocurrency decreased another 3.5 times to a two-year low of $1.00.

By the end of 2023, amid the general rise of the crypto market, the rate of cryptocurrency NEAR rose to $4.30, but by the end of January 2024 corrected to $2.64, after which it began to increase and in March reached $8.19. After a brief correction, the price of NEAR returned to a two-year high of $8.23 amid news that Grayscale, a significant investment company that had previously launched Bitcoin-ETF and Ethereum-ETF, launched its trust investing in Near Protocol cryptocurrency in May 2024.

Following this, the value of NEAR started to correct again, and by October 2024, it dropped 1.8 times to $4.50. In this case, the NEAR rate followed the market, which was dominated by a downward trend caused by several factors:

• Bitcoin distributions by government agencies;
• The distribution of funds to bankrupt investors Mt. Gox and Genesis Global;
• Uncertainty regarding the U.S. presidential election.