A Hyperliquid trader entered a position of 5.76 million NEAR tokens at an average price of $2.35 in September and has accumulated approximately $20.55 million in unrealized gains as the token traded near $5.82. The position represents a return on margin exceeding 1,500% using 10x leverage on a cross-margin account valued at roughly $7.97 million.
Beyond the NEAR long position, the same account maintains short positions totaling approximately $14.7 million across seven major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Binance Coin, Cardano, and Avalanche. Each short position is valued at roughly $1.9 million to $2.3 million. These shorts have declined in value by approximately $1.33 million, with individual losses including an AVAX short down $623,000 and an ADA short down $327,000.
Catalysts Behind NEAR's Rise
NEAR has climbed more than 145% in a month. The timing of the trader's entry preceded several significant developments for the network. Bitwise launched a U.S. spot NEAR exchange-traded fund on September 29, which attracted nearly $58 million in its first week. This marked the first official spot ETF for NEAR, providing new accessibility to institutional and retail investors through brokerage accounts.
Network activity has increased alongside price gains. NEAR Intents, the network's cross-chain swap layer, recorded $1.84 billion in volume during September, with cumulative volume estimated at $31 billion to $33 billion across more than 30 chains.
A governance change in late 2025 reduced NEAR's maximum annual inflation from approximately 5% to roughly 2.5%, with a newer proposal targeting further reduction toward 1.6% over two years. Reduced token issuance combined with ETF demand represents conditions favorable to leveraged traders.
Risk Factors
The NEAR position has an estimated liquidation price near $1.33, requiring approximately a 77% decline from current levels to trigger liquidation. However, the 10x leverage amplifies volatility exposure—a 10% NEAR pullback would erase approximately $3.4 million of current gains.
Technical analysts have noted that NEAR's relative strength index has periodically exceeded 70 to 80, levels historically associated with overbought conditions. ETF fund flows, a primary driver of recent gains, can reverse rapidly.
