NEAR Protocol rally lifted the token 26% to $3.45 on Thursday. Traders reacted to confidential perpetual trading powered by Hyperliquid.
During the rally, trading volume surged 120.4% to $1.24 billion. Meanwhile, the market cap rose to about $3.9 billion.
NEAR Protocol rally follows confidential perps launch
NEAR made perpetual positions confidential by default. Consequently, users can open leveraged trades without public blockchain exposure. The setup uses NEAR Intents and a private shard. Therefore, transaction details stay shielded from the public ledger.
Traders remain in control of their funds. In addition, position size and entry levels can stay hidden. Trading activity can also remain private.
Funding does not rely only on assets held on NEAR. For example, the interface supports over 35 blockchains. NEAR Intents acts as the router between chains. As a result, users avoid extra transfer steps across wallets.
Hyperliquid handles the underlying perpetual trades
Hyperliquid provides the perpetual futures market behind the product. According to data, the platform saw about $240 billion in perpetual volume. That figure covers the last 30 days.
Under the arrangement, NEAR supplies the privacy and cross-chain layer. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid handles derivatives execution. The product supports over 50 markets. Additionally, traders can use up to 40x leverage.
Hyperliquid is attracting interest beyond NEAR. Payward, Kraken’s parent company, announced plans for on-chain perpetual futures. These would target U.S. customers. The mechanism includes CFTC-regulated Bitnomial Exchange and Bitnomial Clearinghouse.
What’s next for NEAR price?
The token had traded below the $3 mark. Nevertheless, the recent announcement sparked a rally. This happened amid a bearish crypto market after the CLARITY Act failed.
For the rally to continue, NEAR must reclaim $3.5. It must also maintain current momentum. Earlier in the week, interest in confidential trading was ramping up. On September 15, the project said its TVL reached $70 million.
However, perpetual futures remain a high-risk product. Leverage can magnify gains or losses. Local rules may also limit access. In some jurisdictions, decentralized derivative trading faces restrictions.