In March, Google issued a warning that future quantum computers could compromise the cryptography protecting Bitcoin (BTC).
The warning shook the market and more and more protocols are taking serious steps to prepare for such risks. The NEAR protocol (NEAR) is the latest chain to address these quantum vulnerabilities.
The new NEAR Protocol upgrade is live!
After many years in the making, NEAR Protocol upgrade 2.13 went live on testnet and included two major upgrades. The upgrade introduced secure post-quantum access keys using the NIST-approved FIPS-204 signature scheme.
The upgrade aims to strengthen account security and defend against crypto threats. As such, the upgrade adds FIPS-204, a NIST-approved signature system designed to not only repel but also resist any quantum attack.
Second, it introduced dynamic reharding, ensuring that the protocol automatically scales based on demand. As the shard fills with state, it splits to distribute it, eliminating the need for an upgrade. To achieve this feat, Near Protocol will work with Ledger to align hardware security with the quantum era.
How did the market react?
As expected, the upgrade has kept market players coming back. On site, for example, buyers replaced sellers for the first time in five days.
On July 1, the buying volume increased to 16.8 million while the selling volume also jumped to 16.5 million. As a result, the market experienced a positive delta of 200,000.
The same trend continued on July 2, with a positive delta of 500k. A positive delta signals renewed market demand.
On the derivatives side, speculators also rushed into the market. According to CoinGlass, derivatives volume climbed 19% to $475 million, while Open Interest (OI) increased 7.5% to $409 million at the time of writing.
With both OI and volume increasing simultaneously, this suggests that investors rushed to position, driven by the upgrade news.
What’s next for NEAR?
The news of the 2.13 protocol upgrade sparked a strong uptrend for NEAR. After a period of decline, the altcoin reversed course, held support at $1.70, and then climbed to $1.92.
At the time of writing, NEAR was trading at $1.91, up 5.4% on the daily charts. During the same period, altcoin volume jumped 16%, signaling increased market participation.
Notably, NEAR’s momentum strengthened as the Daily Relative Strength Index formed a bullish cross, rising to 46. At the same time, DMI’s +DI climbed to 19, confirming the growing momentum. Taken together, these two indicators suggest the likelihood of a strong increase to come.
If current demand holds, the RSI could move above 50, validate the trend and push NEAR towards reclaiming the $2 resistance. In this case, $2.5 would become the next immediate hurdle. However, if this move proves speculative and fades quickly, the altcoin could pull back towards $1.70.
Final summary
- NEAR protocol upgrade 2.13 has gone live on testnet, introducing secure post-quantum access keys using the NIST-approved FIPS-204 signature scheme.
- NEAR jumped 5.4%, held at $1.7 and jumped to $0.92 as speculative demand returned to the market.
