Near Protocol flaunts bullish structure after Bitwise Europe launches NEAR staking ETP

• Near Protocol aims to move to $2.74 following a breakout from an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern.
• Bitwise NEAR staking ETP goes live on Deutsche Börse Xetra, highlighting institutional interest in AI tokens.
• The ETP will stake its NEAR holdings, targeting around 5.5% in net returns after fees.

Near Protocol (NEAR), a high-performance Artificial Intelligence (AI) native protocol built to support decentralized applications and intelligent agents, shows bullish signals bolstered by positive sentiment across the cryptocurrency market on Thursday. 

The price upswing to $2.26 at the time of writing comes amid renewed interest in the token, buoyed by the launch of NEAR staking Exchange Traded Product (ETP) by Bitwise Europe.

A 7% increase in the derivatives market Open Interest to around $237 million, along with the surge in volume by 61% to approximately $649 million, suggests interest in NEAR is growing. Liquidations in the last 24 hours totaled $628,000, with roughly $490,000 in shorts and about $137,000 in long positions.

NEAR derivatives market data | Source| CoinGlass

Bitwise NEAR ETP live on Deutsche Börse Xetra

Bitwise Europe announced the launch of the NEAR staking ETP on Deutsche Börse Xetra, a German electronic exchange, on Wednesday, offering regulated exposure to one of the leading blockchains in the AI sector.

The staking ETP will trade under the ticker NEAR and form part of Bitwise’s strategic European suite of index-linked staking initiatives. Bitwise stated that the ETP has been designed to stake the NEAR it holds, targeting approximately 5.5% in additional returns after accounting for staking fees. Much of the NEAR held will be used to provide liquidity on regulated exchanges.

“NEAR was built to power a new kind of internet—one where AI serves people, not platforms. This ETP brings that vision closer to investors worldwide,” co-founder of Near Foundation, Illia Polosukhin, said.

Near Protocol continues to advance its blockchain infrastructure to support user-owned AI systems. Such systems make AI-to-human transactions possible. NEAR is the second-largest AI token, with a market capitalization of $2.8 billion, slightly lower than Bittensor (TAO), which is valued at $2.9 billion.

Technical outlook: NEAR rebounds, targeting 23% move 

Near Protocol’s price is trading above two key levels, including the 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), currently at $2.17, and the 50-day EMA at $2.15. This bullish structure follows the establishment of an inverse head and shoulders (H&S) pattern, as shown on the daily chart, as well as the subsequent technical breakout above the neckline resistance at around $2.23.

The breakout extended to intraday highs of $2.36 before NEAR retreated, almost retesting the pattern’s neckline, which had turned into support at $2.23. 

Based on the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator, which has maintained a buy signal from Wednesday, the path of least resistance could stay upward. As long as the blue MACD line remains above the red signal line, traders will be encouraged to increase their exposure, thereby bolstering bullish momentum.

NEAR/USDT daily chart

The inverse H&S pattern projects a 23% breakout to $2.74, a target determined by the height of the pattern, extrapolating above the breakout point. 

Traders may temper their bullish expectations, especially if the 200-day EMA resistance at $2.26 caps further price increases. If profit-taking activities increase overhead pressure, investors may look for support at the 100-day EMA, around $2.23 and the 50-day EMA at $2.17.