NEAR Protocol price has climbed more than 12% over the past 24 hours to trade above $5.20 on October 16, as investors assessed the appointment of Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz to the NEAR Foundation Council and analysts watched for a possible recovery toward $6.
Summary
- NEAR Protocol climbed more than 12% over 24 hours, trading above $5 amid renewed buying.
- Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz joined the NEAR Foundation Council on October 14 to support governance.
- NEAR remained above four major daily exponential moving averages despite weakening short term technical momentum.
- Analyst Rekt Capital identified $5.97 resistance and warned that losing support could expose deeper declines.
- NEAR Foundation reported Intents processing more than $33 billion, with confidential TVL exceeding $160 million.
CoinGecko recorded NEAR trading at approximately $5.21, with a market capitalization of $6.82 billion and daily trading volume near $1.24 billion. The token moved between $4.54 and $5.43 during the session, recovering from recent selling pressure after failing to hold its earlier advance toward $6.
The recovery follows a period of sharp price movements, with NEAR gaining approximately 122% over the previous 30 days. Despite the increase, the cryptocurrency remained below its October 11 high near $5.97, which analysts identified as a key resistance level.
NEAR’s latest gains came two days after the Foundation appointed Mumtaz, whose company develops infrastructure for Solana applications. The appointment adds a new member to the organization’s governing council as it expands privacy features and cross-chain trading services.
NEAR price faces $6 resistance after sharp recovery
NEAR’s daily chart showed the cryptocurrency trading near $5.18 after retreating from a recent attempt to break above $6. Although the token experienced short-term selling pressure, it remained above its four major exponential moving averages, indicating that the medium-term upward trend had not yet broken.
The 20-day exponential moving average stood at $4.903, followed by the 50-day average at $4.052. Longer-term averages were positioned at $3.256 and $2.635 for the 100-day and 200-day periods, respectively.
A price trading above all four averages generally indicates that buyers have maintained control across different timeframes. However, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator suggested that the recent rally was losing strength.
The MACD line stood at 0.368, below its signal line of 0.454, while the histogram had declined to -0.086. The negative reading indicated that upward momentum had weakened, even though NEAR remained above its short-term trend support.
Crypto analyst Rekt Capital warned that NEAR had not yet confirmed a breakout from its established trading range. The analyst pointed to a weekly close below $5.97, followed by another rejection that prevented the cryptocurrency from holding higher prices.
According to his assessment, NEAR needs to regain $5.37 and maintain support near $4.90 to improve its technical position. Failure to defend those levels could expose the token to its descending trendline or a decline toward the established range low at $3.79.
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) October 15, 2026$NEAR – Near Protocol
"NEAR is not ready for continuation just yet, as price Weekly Closed below the key resistance of $5.97 (black)"
NEAR has since rejected, remaining within its black-black Macro Range
In fact, NEAR hasn't been able to even hold $5.37 on the dip
Unless NEAR… https://t.co/SFSPcBWKsD pic.twitter.com/qno2DJErF5
The $4.90 level closely matches NEAR’s 20-day EMA, making it an important area in the current chart setup. A sustained move below that support would bring $4.50 and the 50-day EMA near $4.05 into focus.
Analysts identify conditions for NEAR price to reach $10
Crypto analyst Giannis Andreou identified $6 as the next major test for NEAR following its recent rally. His weekly chart placed initial support between $4.50 and $4.90, where buyers would need to prevent a deeper correction.
Andreou said a recovery above $6 could strengthen the bullish setup and bring $8.81 into view as the next resistance level. A confirmed breakout above that area, followed by a successful retest, would support a possible advance toward $9.80–$10.
— Giannis Andreou (@gandreou007) October 15, 2026🔥 $NEAR’S NEXT BIG TEST IS $6
After a sharp rally, $NEAR is pulling back toward the $4.50–$4.90 support zone on the weekly chart.
Reclaiming $6 would strengthen the recovery setup, with $8.81 marking the next major resistance.
A confirmed breakout and retest there would bring… pic.twitter.com/iBqkQdY9Ac
Beyond $10, the analyst identified Fibonacci extension levels near $10.91 and $13.57. His more optimistic scenario extended toward $15.80, representing approximately 221% upside from the $4.928 chart price used in his analysis.
Those projections remain conditional and do not represent confirmed price targets. Andreou warned that a decline below $4.50 would weaken the recovery structure and challenge the assumptions behind his bullish scenario.
For the immediate trading range, NEAR must first move above $5.50 before attempting another test of $5.97–$6. A failed recovery could leave the cryptocurrency trading between its short-term support and resistance levels.
The token previously rallied to $5.50 and overtook Stellar by market capitalization on October 8. At the time, NEAR’s market value reached approximately $7.2 billion as trading activity increased.
Helius CEO joins NEAR Foundation Council
Amid the latest price movements, the NEAR Foundation announced on October 14 that Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz had joined its governing council.
Mumtaz will serve alongside NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, Anchorage Digital co-founder Diogo Mónica, former Foundation chief operating officer Chris Donovan, and NEAR One founder Bowen Wang.
The council oversees the Foundation and its major decisions, including support for ecosystem development and product strategy. Mumtaz will continue leading Helius, which provides Solana infrastructure used by projects including Phantom, Jupiter, Coinbase, and Bitwise.
— NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) October 15, 2026Helius CEO @mert has joined the NEAR Foundation Council, NEAR Foundation’s governing body.
An early NEAR Intents user and leading voice on privacy, Mert brings an operator’s view to how NEAR builds and grows.
“For crypto to win, we need connected, unstoppable liquidity at…
His appointment follows his previous involvement with NEAR Intents, a system that allows users to exchange assets across blockchains without manually handling every transfer.
Mumtaz has publicly supported privacy-focused cryptocurrency infrastructure, particularly Zcash and shielded transactions. The Foundation said his experience would support its work on connecting liquidity across networks while protecting users’ financial information.
Commenting on the appointment, Mumtaz said, “For crypto to win, we need connected, unstoppable liquidity at planetary scale.” He argued that Solana, Zcash, and Bitcoin should work together through shared infrastructure.
Polosukhin described Mumtaz as an early supporter of NEAR Intents and said his technical experience would contribute to the Foundation’s work on private assets and cross-chain markets.
NEAR Intents passes $33 billion in trading volume
The Foundation’s latest announcement reported that NEAR Intents had processed more than $33 billion in cumulative transaction volume. Confidential total value locked had exceeded $160 million, reflecting assets held within its privacy-focused trading infrastructure.
Earlier in September, NEAR’s confidential TVL passed $70 million, triggering the first snapshot under the network’s incentive program. The program allocated 333,333 tokens for eligible users who met the required activity and balance conditions.
NEAR Intents allows users to move between supported assets using a network of competing liquidity providers. The Foundation’s privacy infrastructure is designed to keep trading balances and transaction histories confidential while allowing users to control their accounts.
The service experienced a security incident earlier this month when attackers exploited an interaction involving Omni’s deposit and withdrawal system. The attack affected approximately $3.8 million in USDT on BNB Smart Chain.
Following the incident, NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin confirmed the restoration of NEAR Intents after the $3.8 million exploit. He said the vulnerability had been addressed and affected users would receive compensation.
NEAR Intents and near.com resumed operations on October 1, although some affected chains initially remained restricted. Polosukhin stated that the underlying NEAR blockchain, its native token, and other applications were not compromised during the attack.
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