NEAR Protocol [NEAR] has become one of the first blockchains to run a NIST-approved post-quantum signature scheme in production. The Layer 1 AI-native settlement layer announced the development in a post on X on Monday, 20 July.

Post-quantum signatures are designed to protect public-key systems against future quantum-computing threats. For blockchains, where signatures secure accounts, transactions, and validator activity, early production deployment is a long-term infrastructure step rather than a short-term market catalyst.

Alongside the post-quantum signing upgrade, NEAR also launched dynamic resharding, a feature intended to allow the network to scale automatically. Sharding is used to split network workload across multiple segments, and dynamic resharding is aimed at adjusting that capacity as demand changes.

The protocol has also said it is preparing for agentic commerce as part of a broader push to support the agent economy. NEAR is developing what it describes as an open, integrated stack for that economy. According to the project, the system is intended to include identity, liquidity, private inference, confidential execution, settlement, governance, and economics.

The broader announcement dates back to February 2026, when NEAR outlined what it presented as a structural shift for the protocol. The changes have come during an ongoing bear market, with wider market conditions making a sustained bullish turnaround difficult to establish.

NEAR price action and derivatives data

Over the past 24 hours, NEAR has recorded losses of nearly 3%, while Open Interest has declined by 4.1%. Daily trading volume increased marginally by 5.5%, but the token’s short-term trend has remained bearish.

Since reaching a local high of $2.06 on Tuesday, 21 July, NEAR’s price has fallen by 13.5%.

Analyst Ali Martinez noted that the TD Sequential indicator produced a buy signal for NEAR on the 4-hour chart. A previous sell signal on 21 July has since aligned with the subsequent price decline, raising attention around whether the latest buy signal will also be validated.

Technical levels in focus

Fibonacci retracement levels showed that NEAR’s rejection from the $2.80-$3.00 area came near the 78.6% retracement zone. This aligned with the bearish trend visible on the higher timeframe. The rally in May appeared to be a retracement, and that move has since started to reverse.

For nearly two months, buyers have continued to defend the $1.80 support zone. However, the Chaikin Money Flow, or CMF, indicated notable selling pressure, while the MACD also pointed to downward momentum.

The $1.80 level remains a key area for market structure. A decline below that zone would signal bearish trend continuation and could be read by swing traders as confirmation of downside momentum. Conversely, a move above $2.10 would be needed to support temporary bullish confidence in NEAR.

NEAR Protocol’s quantum-safe signing is now live, and the TD Sequential indicator has issued a new buy signal. At the same time, buyers continue to hold the $1.80 support zone while the higher-timeframe trend remains bearish.