NEAR Protocol is trading at approximately $2.70 — up more than +80% over the past seven days, after BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes publicly named it part of his “holy trinity” of altcoin picks. The move caught most of the market off guard. While Bitcoin treaded water and most majors drifted sideways, NEAR printed green candles with conspicuous confidence. Now, analysts are looking at Liquid Chain as the next big mover.
Hayes, who runs Maelstrom, his family office fund, posted on X that $HYPE, $ZEC, and $NEAR form his top altcoin grouping, quipping: “When you are in position, trading is easy, sit back and watch the number go up.” The endorsement carries real weight.
Hayes has a documented track record of moving token prices with public calls, and this one delivered: NEAR surged over +30% in the immediate aftermath, briefly touching $2.30 before stabilizing and continuing its climb. Hyperliquid and Zcash also rallied, but neither matched NEAR’s magnitude.
The selection maps to a clear infrastructure thesis: Hyperliquid for high-performance decentralized trading, Zcash for privacy, and NEAR for scalability. With a major protocol upgrade (dynamic resharding) scheduled for June 2026, NEAR’s technical roadmap gives Hayes’ narrative something concrete to point at. The broader question is whether current prices already reflect that story.
Can NEAR Price Hit $4 in 2026 or Is $2.80 the Real Ceiling?
$NEAR looks like it’s trying to complete one of the biggest breakout structures in crypto right now
This isn’t just a random pump
The chart has been compressing under a multi-year downtrend since the 2021 cycle top
Now price is finally approaching the breakout zone
If $NEAR… pic.twitter.com/QXvu5XKodd
— Flippix (@Flippix_sol) May 25, 2026
The scenarios break down like this:
- Bull case: A clean break above $2.70 on volume could open a run toward $2.77–$2.85. CryptoNews targets $4.09 for 2026, citing scalability and developer traction — plausible if ecosystem momentum accelerates.
- Base case: Consolidation between $2.60–$2.70 as the Hayes-driven momentum digests. A healthy pause, not a reversal.
- Bear case/invalidation: A close below $2.55 would suggest the rally has exhausted, and a deeper retracement toward $1.75 becomes possible.
CryptoRank’s fundamental model sees $9.50–$15.25 as a 2026 band only if on-chain growth (a 240% jump in daily active addresses and 187% TVL increase) continues to compound.
Short-term traders should watch the $2.77 pivot closely this week. It’s the line between consolidation and continuation.
DISCOVER: 10+ Next Crypto to 100X In 2025
Liquid Chain Crosses $800K as NEAR Tests Key Resistance
NEAR’s +80% weekly gain is genuinely impressive, but at a $2.70 spot price and a market cap already reflecting Hayes’ endorsement, the asymmetric upside available at this entry point is materially smaller than it was a week ago.
That’s not a knock on NEAR. It’s just math. Early-stage infrastructure plays offer an entirely different risk-reward profile, which is why some rotation into presales makes sense as a satellite position (not a replacement for established assets).
LiquidChain is one project drawing attention in that context. It’s a Layer 3 infrastructure protocol that positions itself as a cross-chain liquidity layer, fusing liquidity from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana into a single execution environment. The pitch is developer simplicity: deploy once, access all three ecosystems.
Its standout features include a Unified Liquidity Layer, Single-Step Execution, and Verifiable Settlement. The presale has now raised $803,400.96 at a current token price of $0.01463. This milestone follows a rapid progression through earlier fundraising thresholds, suggesting consistent demand rather than a single spike.
Visit the Liquid Chain Presale Website Here.
EXPLORE: Best Crypto Presales Gaining Traction Right Now
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