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Will NEAR go up? NEAR protocol price outlook amid FTX exposure

TL;DR

  • The Financial Times revealed that Alameda Research had NEAR protocol tokens worth $50 million.
  • In the week leading to FTX’s bankruptcy filing, the coin’s price fell by 30%.
  • The rate of account creation on the protocol fell to 16,000 wallets from a monthly average of 24,000.
  • Price analysis indicates a price recovery in the short term.

A November spreadsheet by Financial Times has surfaced revealing Alameda capital’s portfolio. The sheet ranks NEAR protocol holdings at position 21 alongside Yuga Labs and Polygon network.

NEAR protocol is a scalable blockchain infrastructure for web3 applications. 

Will NEAR go up? The following sections will explore the coin’s exposure to troubled FTX, recent achievements, and partnerships to determine the price direction.

NEAR protocol exposure to FTX and Alameda research

The FTX contagion has had far-reaching consequences for its diverse investments. The now-bankrupt entity resulted in financing troubles for its associated companies. Some of the affected entities include BlockFi, LedgerX, Genesis Trading, Voyager Digital, and Galois Capital.

The exchange’s books before its bankruptcy protection revealed substantial SRM, SOL, FTT, MAPS, and APT holdings. These coins took a considerable drop in prices in effect; FTT, for instance, fell by 95% while SOL fell by 55% within the same time frame.

The NEAR foundation confirmed that they never held funds in the two entities. 

The reverse allegation, however, holds ground.

The Financial Times (FT) report revealed that Alameda Research had many NEAR protocol tokens.

The tokens, earmarked ‘FTX follow up,’ were valued at $50 million alongside BAYC and Polygon Network.

FT revealed that the spreadsheet was shared by the then FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) while he was seeking funding when the exchange identified its liquidity troubles.

The entire spreadsheet revealed diverse investments ranging from crypto, DeFi, start-ups, military drones, and fertility clinics to publishers.

At an interview at the Dealbook Summit, SBF repeatedly denied connections and his control over Alameda research. He said, “I did not have the bandwidth or attention to run Alameda and FTX at once.” 

In the week leading to the exchange’s collapse, NEAR fell by 30% from $3.396 on November 6 to $2.33 on November 11. The coin is yet to recover losses.

NEAR Protocol’s recent developments

In July 2022, NEAR announced plans to transform into a new wallet and that the NEAR wallet would become its entity. The move would help foster a vibrant ecosystem that can build and maintain its components. Their latest update announced Pagoda would support their wallet until they informed the next step.

On December 1, their foundation announced a new partnership with Grupo Nutresa, a leading food processor in South America, to bring blockchain into the industry. 

Grupo Nutresa will build the first open-source loyalty points programs on the protocol, onboarding a million users in Latin- America, and Columbia.

The protocol’s transparency report indicated a decline in new wallets. The rate of account creation fell to 16,000 wallets a day from a monthly average of 24,000. 

The number of active contracts on the blockchain has remained steady at an average of 500  contracts daily. The number of transactions has dropped from 500,000 daily in November to 400,000.

Final remarks

NEAR ecosystem developments and pricing are yet to move in tandem. The crypto winter was hard on the coin, and it has so far dropped by 90% from the year’s high of $20.

Through chart price analysis, we can deduce positive price momentum from the MACD histogram; the MACD line has broken above the signal line, suggesting prices will rise higher. The Relative Strength Index shows the coin recovering from its oversold position on November 23, with plenty of room for price movement upward.

The coin stats suggest a recovery in the short term, while the impact of Alameda’s research remains unclear. The ecosystem will require a positive market sentiment to restore investor confidence and recoup its losses.

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Brian Koome

Brian Koome is a cryptocurrency enthusiast who has been involved with blockchain projects since 2017. He enjoys discussions that revolve around innovative technologies and their implications for the future of humanity.

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