Since the last quarter of 2023, Near Protocol has been in an upward trend after the number of individual daily addresses interacting with the network grew steadily.
NEAR Protocol was developed as software to encourage a network of computers to operate a platform for developers to create and deploy decentralized applications. NEAR Protocol is operated and maintained by a distributed network of computers, unlike centralized data storage systems like Amazon Web Services (AWS), which serves as the base layer for building applications.
Near Protocol and Sharding
The software’s design centers around sharding, which splits the network’s infrastructure into various segments, enabling computers, or nodes, to handle only a portion of the network’s transactions. By distributing segments of the blockchain instead of the entire blockchain across network participants, sharding provides a more efficient way to retrieve network data and scale the platform.
The Rise Of NEAR
Until September 2023, the number of individual daily addresses interacting with the network grew steadily from around 30-40,000 addresses in May to a less volatile range of 50-70,000 addresses. However, in early September, the number of daily active addresses skyrocketed to almost 1 million before settling at around 700,000 addresses.
Similarly, the number of Near Protocol transactions followed a similar pattern, increasing from around 400-500,000 to over 3.17 Million on September 5. The driving forces behind this sudden and remarkable growth are still being investigated, but such a significant increase during a period of harsh market conditions is noteworthy in itself.
Unfortunately, Near’s total value locked (TVL) has fallen considerably. Its current TVL is around $34 Million, down by almost $440 Million from its all-time high in May 2021.
Near’s current TVL is lower than that of Sui and Aptos, which launched two years after Near and in much harsher market conditions. Almost half of Near Protocol’s TVL is due to LiNEAR Protocol, which provides liquid staking solutions to the NEAR ecosystem, along with its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
The Bullish Trend Continues in NEAR
Since the last quarter of 2023, Near Protocol has been experiencing an upward trend. However, a slight pullback in the market caused the token price to drop slightly in late January. According to CoinMarketCap data, Near Protocol’s price has been rallying lately, with a gain of more than 30% in the last 30 days and 22% in the last 7 days.
Furthermore, the Near Protocol trading volume and market cap have both been on the rise in the past week. The increased market activity surrounding the tokens could potentially push the price further up. Analysts believe that if the bullish momentum persists, Near Protocol’s price could reach $4 in the coming days.
Summary
NEAR Protocol is a platform that enables developers to create and deploy decentralized applications. The number of daily addresses interacting with the network has been growing steadily, with trading volume and market cap on the rise.
