NEAR Closes at $4.408 as Crypto and Tech Weaken Broadly
Key Facts
NEAR closed at $4.408 on October 29, after closing at $4.734 the previous day, according to EL7 data. The decline came amid broader weakness in crypto assets, with CoinDesk describing NEAR as the weakest performer among major tokens on a measure of cumulative trading flow adjusted for open interest. The report said the token "appeared the weakest, with a sharp drop near midday." The TokenPost page could not be opened for direct verification of those figures, so they remain attributed to its summary and do not represent independent confirmation.
These figures, like the spot price and the amount of long liquidations, appeared only in the summary and could not be verified directly from the source page. EL7's daily closes provide a different time-based comparison: $4.734 on October 28 and $4.408 on October 29. The difference between the daily close and the spot price attributed to Binance reflects differences in measurement time and source. An intraday reading should therefore not be confused with the day's close recorded in EL7 data.
Pressure extended to other digital assets on October 29, with CoinDesk reporting that Bitcoin had fallen 1.4% since midnight UTC, Ether was down 1.7%, and the CoinDesk Memecoin Index had declined 3.4%. The report also said crypto contract liquidations rose 84% to $337.4 million over 24 hours. By contrast, executed trading volume was nearly evenly split between buying and selling, at 50.1% and 49.9%, respectively. These figures place NEAR's move within a broader market decline, while CoinDesk's reading showed the token's cumulative trading flow was the most negative among major tokens.
CoinDesk linked part of the risk-off move to weakness in technology stocks after results from Alphabet and Samsung. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.2%, alongside a 4% decline in Samsung Electronics shares, while Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 1.1%. According to the report, these moves showed pressure on AI-linked tokens coinciding with declines in technology shares. This coincidence does not establish that the stock moves directly caused NEAR's decline. It does, however, put the token's performance in the context of a session marked by weakness in both technology and digital assets.
The moves followed the Federal Reserve's October 28 decision to keep its target interest-rate range at 3.75% to 4%. The decision passed by a 10-2 majority, with the two dissenting members favoring a quarter-percentage-point rate increase. The central bank said economic activity "is expanding at a solid pace," but added that "inflation remains elevated." It said gathering more information would help the committee determine the appropriate policy stance to return inflation to its 2% target in a timely manner. Inflation remaining above the level of comfort, together with the split vote, formed the monetary-policy backdrop to that day's market volatility.
Crypto market indicators were not consistently negative throughout the week. On October 26, NEAR fell 1.4% alongside a limited broad market decline, while open interest in crypto contracts rose 0.85% to $139.9 billion over 24 hours. Liquidations fell 71% to $153 million over the same period, with buying and selling flows nearly balanced, according to a CoinDesk report. CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index also registered 53 out of 100 on October 26, compared with 58 on October 23. On Wednesday, October 28, U.S. spot Bitcoin funds received $137 million, marking a third consecutive session of inflows, CoinDesk reported, citing Farside Investors.
Monetary-policy attention is turning to the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting, scheduled for December 8 and 9, 2026, according to the Federal Reserve calendar. Until then, inflation data and central-bank communications remain milestones investors are watching to assess the policy path after October's decision. In the near term, EL7 data showed NEAR's close falling from $4.734 on October 28 to $4.408 on October 29. CoinDesk's reading of cumulative trading flow remains an additional indicator of the token's weakness in the session, alongside moves in other digital and technology assets.