NEAR Jumps 6.0% after Near Protocol Expands to Five Shards Enhancing Network Capacity and Scalability

Daily Top Performer — Near Protocol (NEAR)

The SPX index is down 0.29%, this drop was influenced by a higher-than-expected producer price index for February, which also boosted the dollar and Treasury yields. The broader cryptocurrency market is down, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 5.66% and 3.77%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today’s outperformer is NEAR, which jumped 6.0% after Near Protocol Expands to Five Shards Enhancing Network Capacity and Scalability.

Near Protocol (NEAR), launched on April 2020, is a decentralized platform using sharding for efficient app development and operation, similar to Amazon Web Services but with a distributed network and its own cryptocurrency, NEAR token. Near Protocol has successfully increased its number of shards to five, enhancing its network's capacity and scalability. This advancement, achieved in collaboration with Pagoda Platform, comes despite recent slower transaction times due to a major protocol upgrade and the initial phase of re-sharding. Users experienced congestion, particularly on one shard, due to high usage and the challenging nature of the upgrade for validators. Efforts by the Protocol and SRE teams have largely restored normal speeds, with further improvements expected as Shard 2 undergoes another split. An additional upgrade is planned, bringing the total to six shards, ensuring NEAR can continue to meet demand and support major Web3 applications.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of NEARUSDT Perp and NEAR/USDT Spot!

Talk of the Town:

Drift Protocol, operating on the Solana blockchain, plans to launch a "pre-launch market" for trading tokens before their official debut. This new marketplace aims at enhancing price discovery for upcoming tokens like Wormhole's W. It's designed to allow traders to speculate on the prices of tokens that are yet to be traded, addressing the initial volatility and pricing challenges associated with the launch of new governance tokens. Despite the inherent risks of market manipulation, Drift is implementing safeguards against excessive price fluctuations. While the concept of pre-launch markets isn't novel in the broader DeFi ecosystem, it represents a new venture within the Solana community. Drift anticipates the market may attract modest engagement, yet it could garner significant attention on social media platforms.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of SOLUSDT Perp and SOL/USDT Spot!

Macro Events to Watch:

In February 2024, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for the US was revised down to 76.9 from an initial estimate of 79.6, marking a decline from 79 in January. Expectations for the future were adjusted to 75.2 from 78.4, and the assessment of current conditions was lowered to 79.4 from 81.5. Inflation expectations for the coming year edged up to 3% from 2.9%, while the five-year inflation outlook remained steady at 2.9%.

Airdrop to Watch:

Plena's airdrop campaign, titled "Road To TGE," is now active on Galxe, allocating 2% of the total $PLENA supply to participants. The campaign is free to join, takes approximately 10 minutes, and involves completing social tasks. Anyone with a Galxe account can participate, earning rewards including whitelist spots and USDT prizes. The four-week campaign, leading up to Plena's token generation event (TGE), features various social tasks and quizzes, with the ability to earn over 160 points. Plena is described as a super app that integrates a secure, self-custodial wallet with access to DeFi products, supported by notable backers such as ConsenSys. The project has raised nearly $5M through multiple funding rounds, with its $PLENA token IDO set to launch on platforms like DAO Maker and ChainGPT. The campaign, which runs until April 8, is highlighted for its attractiveness and significant token supply allocation.