NEAR Protocol Propels Token 80% Higher Amid Privacy Trading Expansion
NEAR token posts one of crypto's strongest weekly performances as the network launches privacy-focused trading infrastructure and NEAR Intents surpasses $29 billion in transaction volume.
Privacy-First Trading Infrastructure Launches
NEAR Protocol’s native token delivered exceptional returns this week, solidifying its position among crypto market leaders. Trading at approximately $4.29 on Monday, NEAR reflected gains of roughly 78% over seven days and about 22% in the preceding 24 hours, substantially outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market’s approximately 6% weekly appreciation.
The token’s momentum accelerated as Near Protocol unveiled expanded confidentiality capabilities for its trading platform. Beginning Thursday, the network implemented default privacy protections for deposits and withdrawals on perpetual futures contracts accessible through near.com. The enhancement conceals connections between users’ primary wallets and their dedicated Hyperliquid trading accounts, addressing growing demand for transaction obscurity among sophisticated traders.
Near Protocol reported that confidential assets locked within its system had surpassed $70 million, triggering a milestone under the NEAR@3.33 incentive program. This initiative allocated 333,333 tokens for initial distribution, with unlock conditions triggered when the token’s three-day volume-weighted average price reaches $3.33.
NEAR Intents Reaches Major Volume Milestone
NEAR Intents, the protocol’s cross-chain swap mechanism where market makers compete to fulfill user-requested trades, achieved a significant volume threshold, according to Near Protocol. The system processed $29.3 billion in cumulative transactions, with $842 million flowing through the network during the preceding seven days.
Privacy-centric Zcash emerged as a notable integration partner with the network. The ZODL wallet, a Zcash-focused application, ranked as the third-largest referral source by transaction volume over a recent 24-hour period, accounting for approximately $3.8 million in swap activity across nearly 460 transactions. A single ZEC transaction valued near $613,000 numbered among the platform’s largest recorded swaps during that timeframe.
Bitwise research analyst Camran Khosravi described NEAR and Zcash as complementary assets, noting that NEAR’s infrastructure provides ZEC holders with confidential cross-chain capabilities and expanded liquidity access. Khosravi cautioned that NEAR Intents’ total value locked metric can inflate when existing ZEC holdings within the system appreciate, independent of new capital inflows.
Privacy Innovation Extends Beyond Trading
Near Protocol’s privacy-focused roadmap reaches beyond trading activities. The network announced in July that NEAR AI had deployed staking mechanisms enabling users to stake NEAR tokens in exchange for compute credits. These credits facilitate confidential artificial intelligence inference and agent hosting while allowing users to maintain ownership of their underlying token positions.
The expansion of privacy-focused infrastructure across blockchains demonstrates how specialized networks can integrate across ecosystems—a trend underscoring the crypto market’s evolution toward greater user sovereignty and seamless cross-protocol interoperability, key principles central to the broader adoption of decentralized financial infrastructure.
Source: Near Protocol, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.