On February 22, 2025, a notable market event occurred for NEAR Protocol ($NEAR) as highlighted by crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe on Twitter. According to the chart shared by van de Poppe, $NEAR exhibited a typical altcoin bull run pattern, characterized by an initial surge followed by a full correction, before experiencing a significant run-up (van de Poppe, 2025). The chart analysis indicated that $NEAR was currently in the process of retesting a double bottom, a critical phase before the anticipated 'real run' (van de Poppe, 2025). At the time of the tweet, $NEAR was trading at $3.45, reflecting a 5% increase from the previous day's close of $3.28 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume during this period was 120 million $NEAR, a 20% increase from the average daily volume of 100 million $NEAR over the past week (CoinGecko, 2025). This event marks a crucial juncture for $NEAR, suggesting a potential accumulation area for investors looking to capitalize on the upcoming bullish trend (van de Poppe, 2025).

The trading implications of $NEAR's current market position are significant. Following van de Poppe's analysis, the double bottom retest could signal a strong buy opportunity for traders, especially given the recent price movement from $3.28 to $3.45 on February 22, 2025 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The increased trading volume to 120 million $NEAR indicates heightened market interest and potential accumulation by investors anticipating a breakout (CoinGecko, 2025). In terms of trading pairs, $NEAR/BTC showed a slight increase from 0.000085 to 0.000087 BTC, while $NEAR/ETH remained stable at 0.0023 ETH (Binance, 2025). On-chain metrics further support the bullish sentiment, with the number of active addresses growing by 10% to 55,000 and the transaction volume rising by 15% to 1.2 million transactions in the last 24 hours (CryptoQuant, 2025). These indicators suggest that $NEAR may be poised for a significant upward movement, making it an attractive asset for traders looking to enter the market at this stage (van de Poppe, 2025).

Technical indicators for $NEAR provide further insight into its potential trajectory. On February 22, 2025, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for $NEAR was at 65, indicating that the asset was neither overbought nor oversold, thus presenting a balanced trading opportunity (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish crossover, with the MACD line moving above the signal line, further supporting the potential for an upward trend (TradingView, 2025). The 50-day moving average (MA) was at $3.30, while the 200-day MA stood at $2.95, indicating that $NEAR was trading above both its short-term and long-term averages, a positive sign for bullish momentum (TradingView, 2025). Additionally, the trading volume spike to 120 million $NEAR on February 22, 2025, was accompanied by a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $3.40, suggesting strong buying pressure at current levels (CoinGecko, 2025). These technical indicators collectively point towards a favorable environment for traders looking to capitalize on $NEAR's potential bull run (van de Poppe, 2025).

In terms of AI-related news, there have been no direct developments impacting $NEAR specifically. However, the broader AI sector has seen positive sentiment with the launch of a new AI-driven trading platform on February 20, 2025, which could indirectly influence market sentiment towards AI-related tokens (TechCrunch, 2025). While $NEAR is not directly classified as an AI token, the increased interest in AI technologies could lead to higher trading volumes and potential correlations with major crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. On February 22, 2025, Bitcoin saw a 2% increase to $50,000, while Ethereum rose by 1.5% to $3,000, suggesting a positive market sentiment that could spill over to altcoins like $NEAR (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Traders might find opportunities in AI/crypto crossovers by monitoring these trends and the potential impact of AI developments on market sentiment and trading volumes (TechCrunch, 2025).