NEAR Protocol: $20.9M Liquidations Expose a Long-Side Skew
At $4.699, the NEAR Protocol derivatives market is showing a clear liquidation-skew problem: $20.9M of positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, including $20.1M in longs versus $746.7K in shorts. At the same time, total open interest fell 13.7% to about $1.286B, suggesting leverage was removed mainly through forced long-side exits rather than balanced deleveraging.
Recent coverage has centered on NEAR’s relative altcoin strength and optimism around a potential ETF. The derivatives tape, however, is more fragile than that narrative suggests.
Open interest is concentrated, but shrinking
Binance remains the largest tracked venue with $250.8M of NEAR open interest, equal to 19.5% of the reported total, although its balance declined 7.5% over 24 hours. Gate holds $191.1M, or 14.9%, after a smaller 5.1% retreat. Bybit contributes $176.7M, or 13.7%, but has suffered the sharpest pullback among the major venues at 23.4%. OKX is smaller at $54.3M, or 4.2%, and its open interest dropped 20.7%.
The short-term shift is less one-sided: Binance open interest rose 2.4% over the latest four-hour window and Gate increased 2.5%, while Bybit edged up 0.2%. That rebound in short-term positioning has not repaired the broader structure. Across the market, 24-hour open interest is down 13.7%, while trading volume rose 9.9% to $2.9B. More activity alongside lower OI is consistent with positions being closed or liquidated rather than with a clean buildup of fresh conviction.
Funding stays positive while longs absorb the damage
Current funding rates are mostly positive. Binance, Bitget, Bybit, Gate, Aster, BitMEX, OKX and several other venues show 0.010%, while Crypto.com is higher at 0.0209%. Hyperliquid is much lower at 0.0013%, and Coinbase is at 0.0033%. The exceptions are CoinEx at -0.0795% and EdgeX at -0.0050%, indicating that isolated venues are pricing more defensive or short-heavy conditions.
NEAR’s average eight-hour funding rate is 0.0037%, so longs are still paying to remain positioned even after the liquidation wave. That combination matters: positive carry normally rewards long exposure, but it can also keep crowded longs in place while downside volatility forces exits. The largest recorded liquidation was a $2.9M long at $4.899, followed by a $1.7M long at $4.704. Those levels show where leverage has already been vulnerable.
Accounts lean long, but takers are not confirming
The long/short ratio data adds the most important contradiction. Accounts are long-heavy on Binance at 61.2%, Bybit at 64.7%, Bitget at 68.6% and Gate at 57.4%. Yet active takers on Binance are only 38.6% long, meaning 61.4% are selling or initiating short-side trades. OKX takers are modestly long at 53.5%, while Gate is nearly balanced at 49.9% long and 50.1% short.
This account-versus-taker split points to passive long inventory meeting more defensive execution. The broader account reading is also long-heavy at 62.8%, while the taker reading is 57.7%, reinforcing that headline positioning is more optimistic than immediate order flow.
Verdict
The exclusive read is bearish-to-fragile while NEAR remains below the $4.899 liquidation zone and total OI stays near $1.286B after its 13.7% daily contraction. A move toward the $4.704 area would test the latest large long-liquidation level, while a sustained reclaim of $4.899 followed by a recovery in OI above $1.286B would invalidate this liquidation-skew view. Binance taker flow also needs to turn from 38.6% long toward a clear long majority; without that confirmation, positive funding and long-heavy accounts remain supply rather than strength. Data as of 14:05 Beijing time on Sep 29, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.