NEAR Protocol Historical Price and Return Analysis: Should I Buy NEAR Now?

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive review of NEAR Protocol’s historical price movements and market fluctuations since its inception, combining data from bull and bear market phases to assess the potential returns for investors purchasing 10 NEAR tokens. By analyzing price trends across multiple market cycles through 2026, this article addresses the critical question: “Should I buy NEAR now?” to help both novice and long-term investors identify optimal entry points and growth opportunities.

Early Market Entry and Initial Cycles: Historical Price Review (2020 to 2021)

NEAR Protocol is a highly scalable base protocol designed to support decentralized applications (DApps) on mobile devices with sufficient speed. Through state sharding technology, NEAR enables blockchain to scale linearly with the number of nodes in the network, targeting 100,000 TPS based on one million mobile nodes. NEAR tokens are used to pay validators who provide scarce computing and storage resources to the network.

According to market data, NEAR’s early trading price began around $100 in 2020:

2020

• Opening Price: $100.00
• Closing Price: $1.48
• Highest Price: $100.00
• Lowest Price: $0.631
• Annual Return: -98.52%

2021

• Opening Price: $1.73
• Closing Price: $14.39
• Highest Price: $16.24
• Lowest Price: $1.73
• Annual Return: 731.06%

An investor who purchased 10 NEAR tokens during the early market cycle in 2020 would have seen potential losses of $988.83 by the end of 2021. However, by 2021, the market recovered significantly, delivering a 731.06% annual return, with 10 NEAR tokens purchased at year-open worth considerably more by year-end.

Bear Market Adjustments and Mid-Cycle Analysis (2022 to 2023)

During this period, NEAR experienced significant price volatility, with the market entering a bear phase following the 2021 bull run. The price declined substantially in 2022 before beginning a recovery in 2023.

2022

• Opening Price: $13.52
• Closing Price: $1.28
• Highest Price: $20.14
• Lowest Price: $1.28
• Annual Return: -90.57%

2023

• Opening Price: $1.65
• Closing Price: $3.65
• Highest Price: $3.80
• Lowest Price: $1.03
• Annual Return: 121.55%

Investors who purchased 10 NEAR tokens during these phases experienced the following potential returns:

• 2022: -$124.05
• 2023: -$5.29

Recent Market Cycles: Should I Buy NEAR Now? (2024 to 2026)

In recent years, NEAR has experienced alternating periods of growth and contraction, with 2024 showing recovery gains followed by volatility in 2025 and further decline in 2026.

2024

• Opening Price: $3.21
• Closing Price: $5.90
• Highest Price: $8.25
• Lowest Price: $2.75
• Annual Return: 83.61%

2025

• Opening Price: $4.97
• Closing Price: $1.73
• Highest Price: $4.98
• Lowest Price: $1.51
• Annual Return: -65.20%

2026 (to date)

• Opening Price: $1.70
• Closing Price: $1.12
• Highest Price: $1.70
• Lowest Price: $1.02
• Annual Return: -34.39%

Investors purchasing 10 NEAR tokens during these recent periods would have seen the following potential returns:

• 2024: -$20.98
• 2025: -$38.54
• 2026 (to date): -$5.85

Summary: Bull Markets, Bear Markets, and Investment Timing Analysis

Through analysis of NEAR Protocol’s historical price movements and potential returns across multiple market cycles from 2020 through 2026, we observe significant volatility characterized by extreme price swings and alternating periods of recovery and decline. While 2021 and 2024 demonstrated recovery potential with strong annual returns of 731.06% and 83.61% respectively, the overall long-term trend from inception through 2026 reflects substantial downward pressure, with cumulative returns for early investors remaining deeply negative. Current market conditions in 2026 suggest investors continue to face challenging entry points, requiring careful consideration of risk tolerance and investment horizon before deciding whether to purchase NEAR at present levels.