NEAR Gains Ground in Final Trading Hour Amid Tug-of-War Between DeFi Hype and Market Weakness

NEAR Inches Higher on RHEA Finance Launch, But Bearish Pressure Keeps Token Below Resistance

NEAR Protocol’s token posted a slight late-session recovery on July 30, briefly climbing from $2.62 to $2.63 before retreating to its previous level. While the move was modest, it stood out against a backdrop of continued market weakness and reflected a tug-of-war between fresh DeFi momentum and prevailing bearish sentiment.

A sharp increase in volume—peaking at 219,646 tokens at 13:57 UTC—suggested growing interest from institutional or large-scale investors. The spike aligned with the official listing of RHEA Finance on LBank Exchange at 14:00 UTC. RHEA is a newly launched DeFi aggregator combining Ref Finance and Burrow, two NEAR-native protocols, with backing from Jump Crypto and Dragonfly Capital totaling $4.5 million.

Despite the event-driven buying, NEAR was unable to reverse earlier losses. The token finished the day down nearly 3%, falling from $2.70 to $2.63. Attempts to reclaim the $2.73–$2.74 resistance zone failed, with price rejections during periods of heightened trading activity.

The price action underscores a broader theme within the DeFi space: although innovation continues and platforms like NEAR expand via Layer 2 scaling (e.g., WeWake) and new products, price momentum remains limited. Investors appear cautious, awaiting more decisive signals or a shift in market structure.

Key Metrics

24-Hour Change: -3% (from $2.70 to $2.63)
Resistance: $2.73–$2.74, repeatedly rejected
Support: $2.63 under pressure; a breach may lead to $2.61
Volume Spike: 219,646 tokens at 13:57 UTC, nearly 4x the hourly average
Intraday Swing: $0.14 range (5.1%), from $2.74 high to $2.61 low
Structure: High-volume rejection near resistance, with consolidation near support

Despite ecosystem growth and new capital inflows, NEAR remains in a consolidation phase. Until bulls can push the token above key resistance levels with conviction, upward momentum is likely to remain short-lived.