NEAR, the AI-focused token, surged to a high of $2.36 on Thursday, driven by strong bullish momentum and excitement surrounding Bitwise’s announcement of a new NEAR exchange-traded product (ETP) launching in Germany. However, the rally lost steam as traders moved to secure profits, causing prices to pull back and establish support near the $2.26 Fibonacci level.

“The NEAR Staking ETP on Xetra creates a compliant, exchange-traded gateway for institutions to participate in NEAR and its user-owned AI ecosystem,” Illia Polosukhin told CoinDesk. “Investors can earn staking rewards without managing private keys or operating nodes, all while maintaining price transparency.”

Despite the recent pullback, NEAR appears to be consolidating, preparing for a potential continuation of its upward trend.

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Technical Analysis

• NEAR found robust support at $2.26, backed by elevated trading volumes between 2 July at 16:00 and 3 July at 15:00.
• In the early hours of 3 July, NEAR broke past the $2.30 resistance mark, climbing to a session high of $2.36, accompanied by significant volume spikes.
• The 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level provided stability amid the wave of profit-taking, suggesting the broader bullish trend remains intact.
• A sharp sell-off occurred between 15:04 and 15:07 on 3 July, with volumes exceeding 310,000 units in that brief window.
• A fresh support zone has formed between $2.26 and $2.27, with the session closing at $2.26, indicating lingering short-term selling pressure.

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CD20 Index Climbs 2% Before Late-Day Reversal

Over the 24-hour stretch from 2 July at 16:00 to 3 July at 15:00, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) experienced notable swings, fluctuating by $37.27 (2.11%). The index peaked at $1,811.11 during the 14:00 hour on 3 July before swiftly pulling back to $1,791.50 by the close.

Despite the late-session retracement, the CD20 showed considerable strength earlier in the day, rallying by more than $21 (1.18%) from its overnight low of $1,778.85. Aggressive buying activity was especially prominent during the 09:00 and 13:00 hours, hinting at institutional accumulation despite profit-taking pressures later in the session.