**Key Takeaways**
NEAR Protocol has experienced a remarkable 32% price surge recently. This impressive rally is driven by several key factors: Thorwallet’s cross-chain integration, a recent halving event that tightens token supply, and rising activity in the derivatives market.
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### What’s Driving NEAR Protocol’s Recent 32% Price Surge?
NEAR Protocol [NEAR] is making significant progress in enhancing its cross-chain functionality. Thorwallet’s recent announcement of integrating NEAR Intents now enables seamless swap routes across dozens of blockchains. This development is widely regarded by investors as a crucial step toward building a fully interconnected decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Following this integration announcement, NEAR’s token price surged by more than 32% at the time of writing, reflecting strong market enthusiasm.
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### Halving Event Tightens Supply
Adding to the momentum from the Thorwallet integration, NEAR completed its halving upgrade on October 30th. This event effectively reduces the token supply circulating in the market, even as institutional demand continues to grow.
According to official updates shared with the NEAR community, the halving has lowered the protocol’s maximum annual inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%. The combination of shrinking supply and increasing demand could trigger a deflationary supply shock, potentially fueling strong upward price momentum.
Historically, halving events attract speculative interest as traders anticipate tighter supply and subsequent price increases. NEAR appears to be following a similar path to major assets like Bitcoin, with both spot and derivatives traders increasingly engaging with the market.
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### Surge in Derivatives Activity Signals Bullish Sentiment
Institutional investors are also showing heightened interest in NEAR within the derivatives market. Recent data from Coinalyze shows NEAR’s Open Interest (OI) has surged significantly, reaching $219 million over the past 24 hours.
This increase aligns with bullish liquidity heatmaps, which highlight growing buy-side pressure at key price levels. For instance, CoinGlass’s Liquidity Heat Maps reveal a notable liquidity cluster of $786K around the $3.17 price mark. This cluster is a key target that traders are closely monitoring.
Together, these positive metrics underscore strong confidence among both retail and institutional traders that NEAR’s recent gains could continue to extend further.
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### What’s Next for NEAR?
With momentum building from the Thorwallet integration, halving event, and rising Open Interest, the key question now is whether demand will build enough bullish pressure to sustain NEAR’s current rally.
If the token can maintain its position above critical support zones and momentum indicators remain positive, we may see a push toward the next major resistance levels in the near future.
For now, market sentiment leans bullish, and NEAR appears well-positioned to benefit from its expanding ecosystem and tightening token supply.
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**Conclusion**
NEAR Protocol’s combination of cross-chain advancements, reduced inflation after halving, and growing derivatives market interest highlights strong fundamentals supporting its price surge. Investors and traders will be watching closely to see if this momentum can carry NEAR to new highs in the coming weeks.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/near-surges-32-assessing-why-3-17-could-be-next-target/