NEAR Closes in on $20 with 42% Rally as Deutsche Telekom Backs the Network

• NEAR price is seeing massive volatility amid general market consolidation.
• Deutsche Telekom has joined the protocol as a validator, a positive push for institutional adoption.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has seen a price increase of over 42% in the last 7 days, pushing it closer to the $20 mark. This strong bullish momentum comes after German telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom announced support for the NEAR Protocol. 

NEAR Blockchain Taps Partnership With Deutsche Telekom 

Deutsche Telekom announced on Monday, November 11, 2024, that it had formed a new alliance with the NEAR Protocol. As CNF reported, Deutsche Telecom joined the protocol as a validator. Validators play a key role in the operation and security of blockchains, as they help to check and approve transactions. Thus, the partnership is a huge milestone for NEAR’s institutional adoption push.

The network is a highly scalable and user-friendly blockchain network that allows developers to create DApps for millions of users. Deutsche Telekom’s focus on decentralized technologies and user data sovereignty aligns with the collaboration. 

Meanwhile, NEAR also focuses on advancing decentralized Artificial Intelligence (AI). As CNF mentioned in October, NEAR collaborated with Zero1 Labs to drive decentralized artificial intelligence for developers and innovators.

The latest partnership announced has fueled positive sentiments across the NEAR blockchain. Although NEAR experienced a 5% decline in the last 24 hours, setting its price at $5.16, the token increased by 42% in the past week. The 24-hour trading volume also increased to $1.6 billion, indicating investors’ rising interest. The market capitalization now stands at $6.2 billion, with a circulating supply of $1.2 billion.

The NEAR trading chart indicated a few crucial levels for traders. At press time, a crucial support level has formed at $2.74, a historically strong purchasing zone. Additionally, NEAR formed resistance at $6.20, a critical level to breach for a continuous upward momentum. 

Analysts claim that if it breaks through this resistance, NEAR could rally to $15 to $20 within 3 to 6 months.

There we go, $NEAR is bottomed out and ready for the next leg upward.

I think it’s likely that we’ll be seeing $15-20 in the next 3-6 months for $NEAR. pic.twitter.com/L6B5haHUr5

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) November 11, 2024

What Onchain Metrics and Technical Analysis Reveals

According to DeFiLlama data, NEAR’s Total Value Locked currently amounts to $243.36 million. 

The TVL measures the total assets locked in a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol. A high TVL for NEAR indicates that people are interested in the project, which may signal strong investment potential. The protocol’s funding initiatives also raised $33.7 million, highlighting sustained development and ecosystem growth. 

According to technical analysis, the protocol’s daily chart showed widening Bollinger Bands, which usually indicates increasing market volatility. The price currently hovers around the middle band, implying an incoming period of consolidation with potential for directional movement.

Nonetheless, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows 62.76, reflecting an almost overbought position, explaining the correction. The MACD indicator showed some bullish momentum. Notably, the MACD line was positioned above the Signal line, while the increasing green histogram bars indicated upward pressure.