NEAR Aims for $5 After Launching Perpetual Contracts on Jio

NEAR Protocol continued its growth on Wednesday, extending the rebound by approximately 6% recorded the day before: traders assessed the new derivatives offering and weakened demand for ETFs.

NEAR Intents launched confidential perpetual contracts linked to Jio Platforms on Tuesday, ahead of the planned listing of the Reliance Group company on Wednesday. The contracts provide exposure to Jio's price movement before the listing while maintaining the confidentiality of traders' positions. These are derivatives, not ownership of the underlying shares. The launch adds another trading scenario to the NEAR ecosystem, although the impact on demand for the NEAR token remains uncertain.

ETF

According to SoSoValue, the NEAR-focused Bitwise fund recorded $4.84 million in net outflows on Tuesday. Following $1.40 million inflows on Monday, the total net outflow over two sessions was approximately $3.44 million. The reversal occurred after four consecutive weeks of inflows. This may reflect profit-taking, but fund flows alone do not reveal investors' motives and do not indicate whether the trend will persist. Further outflows would point to continued weak demand through ETFs, while a resumption of inflows would suggest that Tuesday's redemptions were temporary.

Technical Picture

At the time of publication, NEAR was trading around $4.74, above the 50-day exponential moving average of $4.33. This maintains a constructive short-term structure despite the pullback from the October 12 high of $6.00. The 200-day average is significantly lower, at $2.89, supporting the overall upward trend.

However, NEAR remains below the descending trendline around $5.02: buyers need to overcome this barrier to strengthen the recovery. A confirmed breakout would bring the September 27 high of $5.57 into focus; until then, the psychological level of $5 and the trendline itself remain obstacles.

Daily momentum indicators do not yet show a decisive shift to the bullish side. The RSI is around 49, close to the neutral 50, indicating a balance of buyer and seller pressure. The MACD line remains below the signal line and is tilted downward: momentum is subdued despite the recent rebound.

On the downside, the first support is the September 25 low around $4.43, followed by the 50-day average at $4.33. A break of these levels could open the September 19 high around $3.91. Holding the support zone along with a return above $5.02 would be stronger evidence that NEAR's recovery is gaining strength.