Crypto Market Fluctuates and Weakens: NEAR Defies Trend to Gain 15%, Facing $3 Mark Showdown

TradingKey - Cryptocurrencies weaken and trend lower, while NEAR extends its rally to approach the $3 mark, potentially facing a technical pullback.

On May 26, the cryptocurrency market continued to fluctuate and weaken under the shadows of macro geopolitics and Federal Reserve policy. It fell 0.64% today, with the total market capitalization dropping to $2.56 trillion, maintaining early May lows. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ( BTC) fell 0.84%, constrained below $77,000; Ethereum ( ETH) dropped 0.79%, similarly pinned below $2,100; while Ripple ( XRP ), Solana ( SOL ), Dogecoin ( DOGE) and other major coins all fell by more than 1%.

Total cryptocurrency market capitalization, Source: CoinMarketCap

Amid this weak crypto environment, the high-performance Layer 1 public chain NEAR Protocol ( NEAR) has emerged as the most brilliant contrarian dark horse. Latest data from May 26 shows that NEAR surged another 15% in the past 24 hours, briefly pushing its price above $2.8 and hitting a new six-month high.

Against a backdrop of lacking network-wide liquidity, NEAR has embarked on a non-linear independent rally, astonishing investors. In just the past two weeks, NEAR has surged 86%, driven by a dual non-linear explosion in its AI-native architecture and technical upgrades.

NEAR price chart (weekly), Source: TradingView

On May 20, NEAR officials formally announced the critical v2.13 network upgrade scheduled for June. This move automates upgrades that previously required manual debugging and months of waiting, thoroughly igniting the expectations of technical investors.

On the same day, AI giant Nvidia ( NVDA) released a blockbuster earnings report, driving a renewed global frenzy into the AI sector. NEAR, widely recognized in the market as the "blockchain best suited for AI operations," has also become highly sought after. Furthermore, NEAR’s recent focus on NEAR AI and its AI agent native ecosystem has attracted inflows of AI-tracking hot money.

From the candlestick structure, NEAR is gradually approaching $3. This is not only a psychological barrier but also a major resistance zone that remained unbroken throughout 2025. It is highly likely to trigger selling pressure from short-term profit-takers and previously trapped positions; therefore, NEAR may see a technical retracement to $2 in the short term.

Currently, variables exist between the U.S. and Iran, and President Trump's frequent shifts in stance have left the situation in the Middle East highly uncertain. Furthermore, Warsh taking office has sent a strong signal to the market: the door to rate cuts is essentially closed, and if inflation worsens, a resumption of rate hikes cannot be ruled out. This dual pressure is driving a tightening of market liquidity, and hot money in NEAR may gradually exit as the hype cools. Of course, if the Fed's stance and the Middle East situation improve, the likelihood of NEAR breaking above $3 will increase significantly.