NEAR Protocol rallied 22% to $2.98 on Thursday, driven by the launch of confidential perpetual trading powered by Hyperliquid. Trading volume surged 120.4% to $1.24 billion, while the token's market cap reached approximately $3.9 billion.
Private Trading on NEAR
The new offering allows traders to open leveraged positions without disclosing them publicly on the blockchain. NEAR Protocol implemented the feature using NEAR Intents, which routes transactions through a private shard that shields position details from the public ledger. Traders retain control of their funds while keeping information such as position size, entry levels, and trading activity confidential.
The interface supports funding from over 35 blockchains, with NEAR Intents serving as a cross-chain router. This reduces friction compared to traditional multi-chain trading workflows that require asset transfers across different wallets.
Hyperliquid Partnership
Hyperliquid provides the underlying perpetual futures execution for the product. The decentralized derivatives platform recorded approximately $240 billion in perpetual trading volume over the preceding 30 days. The NEAR interface offers more than 50 markets with leverage up to 40x available.
The partnership extends beyond NEAR. Payward, Kraken's parent company, announced plans to launch on-chain perpetual futures based on Hyperliquid technology for U.S. customers through a structure involving the CFTC-regulated Bitnomial Exchange and Bitnomial Clearinghouse.
Market Context
NEAR had previously traded below the $3 level. The token's rally follows a bearish period in cryptocurrency markets. On September 15, NEAR reported total value locked of $70 million in its confidential trading system.
Perpetual futures trading carries inherent risks, as leverage can magnify both gains and losses. Access may also be subject to local regulations, with some jurisdictions limiting derivatives trading on decentralized platforms.
