Short sellers admitted defeat, and $NEAR rose another 10%.
This time, the buying pressure pushing it higher didn’t come from bullish believers, but from short sellers forced to buy. Reportedly, about $5.47 million in NEAR perpetual futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours. Short positions accounted for $3.7 million, nearly 68% of the total, including the largest single liquidation of $1.95 million around midday on October 15. When short sellers exit at a loss, they have to buy—and every admission of defeat adds fuel to the rally.
But there’s an interesting detail: open interest edged up just over 3% to about $1.55 billion, while funding rates remained neutral. This suggests the rally was driven mainly by existing short positions being closed, rather than a wave of new leveraged longs pouring in. This is a short squeeze, not a rally fueled by fresh capital. Once the squeeze runs out of fuel, whether prices can hold will depend on whether the fundamentals can support them.
Fortunately, there’s more than one catalyst. Ecosystem news has been especially busy over the past 48 hours. Reportedly, on October 15, NEAR’s multi-party computation network expanded to 17 mainnet operators, and its funding model shifted to an ongoing program governed by token holders. Brave browser’s Leo AI also began running private inference on NEAR AI Cloud, turning the AI narrative from a slogan into a real-world use case. Institutions haven’t been left behind either: the Bitwise NEAR ETF reportedly saw another $3.93 million in net inflows on October 14, bringing its net assets close to $80 million.
Technically, $NEAR is reportedly holding above the 4-hour chart’s 50-period moving average at $5.11. The first resistance is the September 28 high of $5.578, with the $6 level next in sight. RSI is at 53, still short of overbought territory.
A note of caution: NEAR is still up more than 120% over the past 30 days, but it remains about 75% below its January 2022 high of $20.44. Short squeezes tend to happen fast, and once the fuel runs out, the real test begins. Whether price can hold firmly above $5.578 will be the litmus test for the strength of this rally. Looking further ahead, the Fed’s policy meeting on October 27–28 is a shared source of uncertainty for all risk assets, including crypto.
In short: short sellers admitting defeat is the fuel; ecosystem progress is the engine. The fuel will burn out, but if the engine really gets going, the rally can go much further.
#NEARRisesNearly10%
#NEAR #Shorting
This is not investment advice. DYOR; trading involves risk.
This time, the buying pressure pushing it higher didn’t come from bullish believers, but from short sellers forced to buy. Reportedly, about $5.47 million in NEAR perpetual futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours. Short positions accounted for $3.7 million, nearly 68% of the total, including the largest single liquidation of $1.95 million around midday on October 15. When short sellers exit at a loss, they have to buy—and every admission of defeat adds fuel to the rally.
But there’s an interesting detail: open interest edged up just over 3% to about $1.55 billion, while funding rates remained neutral. This suggests the rally was driven mainly by existing short positions being closed, rather than a wave of new leveraged longs pouring in. This is a short squeeze, not a rally fueled by fresh capital. Once the squeeze runs out of fuel, whether prices can hold will depend on whether the fundamentals can support them.
Fortunately, there’s more than one catalyst. Ecosystem news has been especially busy over the past 48 hours. Reportedly, on October 15, NEAR’s multi-party computation network expanded to 17 mainnet operators, and its funding model shifted to an ongoing program governed by token holders. Brave browser’s Leo AI also began running private inference on NEAR AI Cloud, turning the AI narrative from a slogan into a real-world use case. Institutions haven’t been left behind either: the Bitwise NEAR ETF reportedly saw another $3.93 million in net inflows on October 14, bringing its net assets close to $80 million.
Technically, $NEAR is reportedly holding above the 4-hour chart’s 50-period moving average at $5.11. The first resistance is the September 28 high of $5.578, with the $6 level next in sight. RSI is at 53, still short of overbought territory.
A note of caution: NEAR is still up more than 120% over the past 30 days, but it remains about 75% below its January 2022 high of $20.44. Short squeezes tend to happen fast, and once the fuel runs out, the real test begins. Whether price can hold firmly above $5.578 will be the litmus test for the strength of this rally. Looking further ahead, the Fed’s policy meeting on October 27–28 is a shared source of uncertainty for all risk assets, including crypto.
In short: short sellers admitting defeat is the fuel; ecosystem progress is the engine. The fuel will burn out, but if the engine really gets going, the rally can go much further.
#NEARRisesNearly10%
#NEAR #Shorting
This is not investment advice. DYOR; trading involves risk.