NEAR traded near $4.50 on Sept. 26 as it extended its September rally. CoinMarketCap showed the token up about 3.5% over 24 hours and roughly 145% over 30 days, with its market capitalization standing near $5.88 billion.

The advance came as derivatives positioning expanded and Bitwise moved forward with its U.S. NEAR exchange-traded fund. NYSE Arca approved the Bitwise NEAR ETF for listing and trading under the ticker NRR, a product designed to provide direct NEAR exposure while also seeking staking rewards. For newer market participants, an ETF structure delivers the token's price exposure through a standard brokerage account, with the fund holding the underlying coins.

NEAR Rally Reaches About 145% in One Month

NEAR Protocol has posted a rally of roughly 178% over the past month, a move similar in scale to the surge seen in ZCash, which has led the privacy coin sector — the category of cryptocurrencies built around transaction confidentiality. The NEAR price climbed from lows near $1.82 to trade above $5 during the move.

Market experts have offered mixed views on what may come next. Some believe the NEAR Protocol rally is just getting started, while others think a pullback could occur before the next leg of the rally resumes.

In a recent post on X, analyst Crypto Patel said the altcoin has already gained 432% over the past seven months and that a previous resistance level is now acting as support. He identified $8, $15, and $20 as the next potential targets for NEAR, while cautioning that investors should consider booking partial profits along the way to protect gains following the significant price increase.

Analyst Michael van de Poppe noted that NEAR has shown strong price action after moving above $5, but said market participants should wait before building another long position. In his view, the strong narrative and momentum could be followed by a market correction, and he expects some pullback in the NEAR price before the next leg of the bull run begins. For shorter-term traders, he said NEAR could offer opportunities because the asset has been consistently testing clear support and resistance levels.

NEAR Follows ZCash's Path in Privacy Coin Narrative

According to from Santiment, NEAR's upside has tracked the ZCash rally, positioning it as the second major entrant in the privacy coin narrative, with ZCash leading the space and NEAR following.

NEAR gained 81% between September 13 and September 20, around the September 17 launch of confidential perpetuals. During the same period, dollar-denominated open interest — the total value of outstanding derivatives positions — increased 119%, while open interest measured in NEAR rose 21%. The NEAR Protocol funding rate, the recurring fee exchanged between perpetual futures traders to keep contract prices aligned with the spot market, reached 1.6 times its two-month median on September 20, with similar spikes recorded throughout the week. These metrics are widely tracked gauges of leveraged positioning.

Bitwise NEAR ETF Cleared for NYSE Arca Listing

Bitwise's NEAR ETF has been approved for listing and trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR, making it the first NEAR ETF to trade in the U.S. market and placing NEAR alongside assets such as bitcoin and ether that already have U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds. NYSE Arca approved Bitwise's application to list and trade the ETF shares, and the fund's S-1 registration statement has become effective under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, the provision covering securities listed on national exchanges. The ETF is expected to launch soon, with its first trading sessions under the NRR ticker the next milestone to watch.

The development came as Bitwise's NEAR Staking ETP crossed $100 million in assets under management. Listed on Deutsche Börse Xetra in July 2025, the product stakes its NEAR holdings and targets net staking returns of around 5.5%.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Analyst targets and derivatives data do not guarantee future price performance.

This article originally appeared on The Market Periodical.