Key Insights:
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On Friday, Near Protocol (NEAR) touched $19 before falling back amidst a broad-based crypto sell-off.
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The upward price trend comes as Near Protocol’s total value locked breaks the $300 million barrier.
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Technical indicators are bullish, with NEAR sitting above the 50-day EMA.
On Friday, NEAR bucked the broader crypto market trend, rising by 0.69%. Following a 14.01% breakout on Thursday, NEAR ended the day at $17.53.
While the upside on the day was modest, NEAR revisited $19 levels with a day high of $19.32 falling back. The early breakout saw NEAR come within range of its all-time high of $20.48 before succumbing to crypto market forces.
Breaking through the First Major Resistance Level at $18.38, the Second Major Resistance Level at $19.33 limited the upside.
New Address Counts and Total Value Locked Delivers NEAR Support
On Friday, FX Empire reported the launch of the NEAR Foundation to drive the development of network projects. The news was NEAR positive, with acceleration in address growth in the first quarter also NEAR positive.
According to Friday’s report, the Near Protocol users based surged by 139% to 5.3 million in the first quarter.
It has been an impressive start to the year for NEAR. According to Defi Llama, NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) surged to a Saturday ATH of $340.07m. On December 31, 2021, NEAR’s TVL stood at $136.61m.
The upward trend in TVL has been key to NEAR price action in recent months. Year-to-date, NEAR is up by 17.5%. The TVL has surged by 149%.
What is Total Value Locked, and Why Does it Matter?
The total value locked is the value of crypto assets deposited in a DeFi protocol. In recent months, TVL has drawn significant interest. Traders consider the TVL a key metric in measuring market interest and native token value.
The market will be looking for divergence between the TVL and the market cap of a token. Buying or selling opportunities present themselves at times of greatest TVL and price divergence.
NEAR Price Action
At the time of writing, NEAR was down 2.62% to $17.07. A mixed start saw NEAR rise to an early morning high of $18.19 before falling to a low of $16.75.
Technical Indicators
NEAR will need to move through the $17.89 pivot to make a move through the First Major Resistance Level at $18.96.
Broader market sentiment would need to improve to support a move through $18.5 levels.
In the event of another extended rally, NEAR should test the Second Major Resistance Level at $20.39 and resistance at the ATH of $20.48.
Failure to move through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $16.46 into play. Barring an extended sell-off throughout the day, NEAR should avoid sub-$16. The Second Major Support Level sits at $15.39.