Buyers Strengthen in This Altcoin as Market Falls: Short Sellers Could Get Squeezed!

NEAR rose 4 percent in the past 24 hours despite the decline in the crypto market, while strengthening buying pressure suggests short positions could be forced to close if the rally continues.

Derivatives data compiled by CoinDesk shows that NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has diverged from the selling pressure on major cryptocurrencies. While sellers remained in control of many assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, both NEAR’s price and the value of its open futures positions increased.

The dollar value of NEAR’s open interest rose 11 percent to $1.70 billion. Because this increase outpaced the price rise, it shows that activity in futures markets was not solely due to the token gaining value.

As buyers gain strength, short sellers are paying

The indicator highlighting buying pressure was the open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) over the past 24 hours. This measure evaluates the difference between market-order buys and sells alongside open interest, and NEAR recorded the strongest positive reading among the major crypto assets analyzed.

By contrast, the funding rate remained slightly negative. In other words, investors who had opened short positions expecting prices to fall were paying long position holders to maintain their positions. The fact that bearish positions remained in place despite buyers gaining strength created a noteworthy setup for the price outlook.

What could happen if the rally continues?

If the price continues to rise, investors holding short positions may be forced to close their trades to limit their growing losses. The buying required to close those positions could also provide additional support for the rally; this is known in the market as a short squeeze.

That is the possibility being watched in NEAR: If strong buying pressure continues, investors expecting prices to fall could be forced out of their positions. Whether that happens depends on the price maintaining its upward momentum.