In March, Google issued a warning that future quantum computers could compromise the cryptography that protects Bitcoin (BTC).
The warning has shaken the market and more protocols are taking serious measures to prepare for such risks. NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is the latest chain to take action to address these quantum vulnerabilities.
The new upgrade of NEAR Protocol is live!
After many years in the making, NEAR Protocol The 2.13 upgrade went live on the testnet and included two major upgrades. The upgrade introduced post-quantum secure access keys using the NIST-approved FIPS-204 signing scheme.
The upgrade aims to increase account security and defend against cryptographic threats. That’s why the upgrade also adds FIPS-204, a NIST-approved signature scheme designed to not only repel but also withstand any quantum attack.
Second, it introduced dynamic resharding, allowing the protocol to scale automatically based on demand. As the shard fills with state, it splits to distribute it, thus eliminating the need for escalation. To achieve this feat, Near Protocol will work with Ledger to make hardware security fit for the quantum age.
How did the market react?
As expected, the upgrade encouraged market participants to return. For example, buyers displaced sellers for the first time in five days.
On July 1, Buying Volume increased to 16.8 million and Selling Volume increased to 16.5 million. As a result, the market saw a positive delta of 200k.
The same trend continued on July 2 with a positive delta of 500 thousand. A positive delta indicated renewed market demand.
On the derivatives side, speculators also flocked to the market. According to CoinGlass, Derivatives Volume increased by 19% to $475 million, while Open Interest (OI) increased by 7.5% to $409 million as of press time.
The increase in the open air index and volume together showed that investors rushed to position themselves under the influence of bullish news.
What’s next for NEAR?
News of the 2.13 protocol upgrade led to a sharp rise for NEAR. After declining for a while, the altcoin reversed direction, holding support at $1.70 and then climbing to $1.92.
While writing, CLOSE It traded at $1.91, up 5.4% on daily charts. During the same period, the altcoin’s volume increased by 16%, signaling increased market participation.
In particular, NEAR’s momentum strengthened as the Daily Relative Strength Index showed an upward trend, rising to 46. At the same time, DMI’s +DI climbed to 19, confirming the growing momentum. Taken together, these two indicators point to the possibility of a strong rise.
If the current demand continues, the RSI could rise above 50, confirming the trend and pushing NEAR towards regaining the $2 resistance. In this case, $2.50 would be the next immediate barrier. However, if the move turns out to be speculative and disappears quickly, the altcoin could decline towards $1.70.
Final Summary
- The 2.13 upgrade of the NEAR Protocol has gone live on the testnet, introducing post-quantum secure access keys using the NIST-approved FIPS-204 signing scheme.
- As speculative demand returned to the market, NEAR rose 5.4%, remained at $1.7, and jumped to $0.92.
