Key Takeaways

• Near Protocol is teaming up with Chinese tech giant Alibaba in a move that could see nearly one billion people gain access to the blockchain’s services.
• The news saw the price of the NEAR coin shoot up.
• However, NEAR is on the SEC’s hitlist, so what will happen next?

The Near Protocol blockchain, one of the many systems set up to serve as some kind of rival to Ethereum (ETH), experienced a revival in June 2023. It was announced  that the platform would work with Alibaba Cloud, the computing and storage arm of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, in a partnership that would, potentially, see the system’s technology accessed by nearly one billion Alibaba customers. People working on the cloud will have access to Near Protocol, which could, in turn, see more applications launched on the platform.

The market certainly took an interest in the news, as the price of Near Protocol’s NEAR coin shot up nearly 15% in just one day. This represented some welcome good news not long after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission had said it considered NEAR to be an unregistered security. 

Unfortunately, what went up had to go down and July saw NEAR sink to its lowest price in nearly three years.

But what is Near Protocol (NEAR)? How does Near Protocol work? Let’s see what we can find out, and also take a look at some of the Near Protocol Price Predictions that were being made as of 17 July 2023.

From the Whitepaper

According to Near Protocol’s technical documentation, or whitepaper , the platform is designed to help people build, develop, and grow applications.

It says: “NEAR is built from the ground up to deliver intuitive experiences for end users, scale capacity across millions of devices and provide developers with new and sustainable business models for their applications. In doing so, NEAR is creating the only community-run cloud strong enough to extend the reach of Open Finance and power the future of the Open Web.”

Advantages and Disadvantages of Near Protocol

Blockchain analytics company Messari  recently released their quarterly report on Near Protocol. In it they highlighted its positive work with Sweat Economy (SWEAT), and outlined some key advantages and disadvantages to the blockchain.

Messari found that Near Protocol

• Had an average market cap of $1.25 billion, down year-on-year from $2.47 billion and down quarter-on-quarter from $1.67 billion.
• Had a revenue of $100,000, down from $1.19 million the previous year and down from $120,000 the previous quarter.
• Had 58,070 active daily accounts, up from 13,930 year-on-year but down from 63.940 quarter-on-quarter.
• Had 357,630 daily transactions, down year-on-year from 683,650 year-on-year and down from 393,050 quarter-on-quarter.

Advantages of Near Protocol

Messari said that

• Near Protocol had made good progress in bringing in new users.
• Was working well on becoming more decentralized.
• Had enjoyed some success with its Blockchain Operating System (BOS), designed to allow developers to build on any blockchain.

Disadvantages of Near Protocol

Messari also said that

• NEAR would have to deal with being accused of serving as an unregistered security by the SEC.
• Had seen its new accounts drop.
• Had seen its treasury holdings fall, thus causing the price of NEAR to go down.

With Messari’s report being broadly positive about Near Protocol, what does this mean about the Near Protocol price prediction?

First, though, let’s talk about what Near Protocol actually is.

Near Protocol (NEAR) Explained

Near Protocol is a blockchain that aims to be faster than the average, thus saving people time and money if they want to do things. Founded in 2017 by crypto entrepreneurs  Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov, it aims to deliver the quickest speeds available. 

Based on a platform called Doomslug, the protocol can add blocks to the blockchain after just one round of validation, significantly fewer than many of its rivals.

Something else that it does a bit differently is that, rather than having a wallet address consisting of a string of numbers and letters, it allows people to have a “human readable” name. The idea behind this is that, by doing so, the system is more user-friendly and, potentially, easier for people who aren’t highly experienced with blockchain technology to pick up. 

Near Protocol also supports the creation of decentralized applications (DApps).

The system has its own crypto coin, NEAR.

 How Near Protocol Works

As well as its Doomslug technology, Near Protocol uses a process called sharding and, in particular, Nightshade sharding. Put simply, this means that the blockchain is broken into smaller segments, which means that it is, at least in theory, quicker.

Rather than being controlled by either a normal business or one single decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), Near Protocol is split into seven departments, called guilds, which operate as independent DAOs.

The NEAR coin itself is used to govern the network, with holders able to vote on proposals affecting the system’s future, and it can also be bought, sold, and traded on exchanges. Because Near Protocol uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, holders can add blocks to the blockchain and earn rewards based on how much NEAR they have.

 NEAR Price History

Let’s now take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of the Near Protocol price history . While past performance should never be taken as an indicator of future results, knowing what the coin has done can help give us some very useful context when it comes to either making or interpreting a Near Protocol price prediction. 

When NEAR first came onto the open market in late 2020, it was worth about $1.70. The first few months of 2021 were highly bullish for both NEAR and crypto, with the coin shooting up to trade at $7.31 in the middle of March. 

After that, things went down for a while, but there was a recovery later on in the year. It broke past $10 in September but fell back down in December before mounting a fightback to close the year at $14.60.

While 2021 was a very positive year for the coin, 2022 was less so. It didn’t look like that initially, though, as NEAR shot up to new levels, reaching an all-time high of $20.42 on 16 January. While it fell back down the next month, it came back and was close to $20 in April. 

After that, though, things started to go wrong. The market collapsed, and NEAR dropped below $10 in May, below $5 in June and, following the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, below $2 in November. It closed the year at $1.27, an annual loss of more than 90%.

So far, things have been a little bit better in 2023, but the crypto has a long way to go before it reaches anything like previous heights. The coin rallied, breaking past $2.50 in February. However, the news that the SEC considered NEAR to be an unregistered security saw it collapse from $1.65 to $1.14 on 5 June.

By 26 June, things had got a little better, and the coin reached $1.61. After that, though, it fell again and was worth $1.29 on 6 July, before recovering to about $1.45 on 17 July 2023.

At that time, there were 937.5 million NEAR in circulation out of a total supply of one billion. This gave it a market cap of about $1.37 billion, making it the 38th-largest crypto by that metric. 

Near Protocol Price Analysis

So far, June has been a rather up and down month for NEAR, although things could have got worse. The coin lost more than 30% of its value in mere hours following the announcement of the SEC’s case against Binance, and it struggled to rise above $1.20 for a while, but picked up later in the month, only to drop again in July.

Its price at the time of writing is more than 25% higher than the previous month’s low and up 12% from 6 July. It is, however, still worth 12% less than before the crash of 5 June. 

Near Protocol Coin Price Prediction 

With that all out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the Near Protocol price predictions that were being made as of 17 July 2023. It is important to remember that price forecasts, especially for something as potentially volatile as crypto, very often end up being wrong. Also, keep in mind that many longer-term crypto price predictions are made using an algorithm, which means that they can change at a moment’s notice. 

First, CoinCodex  had a short-term Near Protocol price prediction which said the crypto could drop to $1.35 by 22 July before recovering to $1.61 by 16 August. The site’s technical analysis was neutral, with 13 indicators making bullish signals and 13 making bearish ones. 

Near Protocol Forecast for 2023

In terms of a Near Protocol price prediction for 2023, DigitalCoinPrice  said that it thought the coin would get to $2.84, while PricePrediction.net  was more cautious, saying NEAR would reach an average of $1.88 this year. Bitnation  was somewhere between the two, with a NEAR price prediction that said it would reach $2.20 by December.

Near Protocol Forecast for 2025

When it came to a Near Protocol price prediction for 2025, PricePrediction said that it would be worth $4.08, while Bitnation suggested it trading at $5.14, and DigitalCoinPrice suggesting it would be ever so slightly lower, reaching $5.12 in two years’ time. 

Near Protocol Forecast for 2030

Regarding a more long-term Near Protocol price prediction for 2030, Bitnation suggested it could trade at $12.48, with DigitalCoinPrice setting a figure of $14.95 and PricePrediction.net saying it could reach $24.67 by the start of the next decade.

Is Near Protocol a Good Investment?

It is hard to say. The news that it is to team up with Alibaba is certainly encouraging, as it could help give the system usage to a company whose customers might not bother with crypto. Any increase in a platform’s utility and prominence should benefit its native token, and NEAR has already responded well to events. 

On the other hand, Near Protocol is living under the shadow of the SEC’s claim that it is an unregistered security. Not only that but, considering that it is one of the sorts of blockchain’s to be dubbed an “Ethereum Killer”, the overall health of ETH might lead someone to wonder whether Near Protocol might not be getting the sort of attention it could.

As always with crypto, you will need to do your own research before deciding whether or not to invest in NEAR.

Will Near Protocol go up or down?

No one really knows for sure. While the price predictions are broadly optimistic, price predictions are usually wrong. Also, remember that prices can, and do, go down as well as up. 

Should I invest in Near Protocol?

Before you decide whether or not to invest in Near Protocol, you should do your own research, not only on NEAR, but on other, similar coins and tokens, such as Ethereum, Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL). You must also make sure that you never invest more money than you can afford to lose. 

FAQs 

How many Near Protocol are there?

On 17 July 2023, there were 357.5 million NEAR in circulation out of a total supply of one billion.

Will Near Protocol reach $10?

It could well do, but it may not happen in the immediate future. DigitalCoinPrice and Bitnation said it could reach that level in 2029. Meanwhile, PricePrediction.net said it could break $10 as soon as 2028. Keep in mind that it has reached $10 before, most recently in May 2022. 

What is Near Protocol used for?

NEAR is the native token of the Near Protocol blockchain. It is used to give people the right to vote on changes to the network and to add blocks to the blockchain. It can also be bought, sold, and traded on exchanges. 

Disclaimer 

Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.