NEAR Historical Price and Returns Analysis: Should I Buy NEAR Now?

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive review of NEAR’s historical prices and market fluctuations since its inception, combining data from bull and bear market phases to evaluate the potential returns for investors purchasing 10 NEAR tokens. It addresses the critical question of “Should I buy NEAR now?” to help both novice and long-term investors identify optimal entry points and growth opportunities.

Early Market Cycles and Price History: From 2020 to 2022

NEAR Protocol is a highly scalable base protocol designed to support DApp execution on mobile devices with sufficient speed. The protocol employs state sharding to enable linear blockchain scaling with network nodes, targeting 100k TPS across one million mobile nodes. NEAR tokens serve as payment for validator services, which provide essential computational and storage resources to the network.

According to available market data, NEAR’s early trading history reveals significant volatility:

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%

2022

• Opening price: $13.52
• Closing price: $1.28
• Highest price: $20.14
• Lowest price: $1.28
• Annual return: -90.57%

An investor who purchased 10 NEAR tokens during the 2021 bull market peak would have experienced substantial losses by 2022, with potential returns of -$119.80 if sold at year-end 2022.

Market Recovery and Consolidation: 2023 to 2024

Following the significant bear market of 2022, NEAR entered a recovery phase characterized by gradual price stabilization and renewed investor interest:

2023

• Opening price: $1.65
• Closing price: $3.65
• Highest price: $3.80
• Lowest price: $1.03
• Annual return: +121.55%

2024

• Opening price: $3.21
• Closing price: $5.90
• Highest price: $8.25
• Lowest price: $2.75
• Annual return: +83.61%

Investors purchasing 10 NEAR tokens during the 2023 recovery showed improved but still modest returns of -$1.04, while 2024 purchases yielded -$16.73 in potential returns.

Recent Market Cycle: Should I Buy NEAR Now? (2025 to 2026)

The most recent period has witnessed renewed volatility in NEAR’s price trajectory:

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: $1.54
• Highest price: $1.70
• Lowest price: $1.54
• Annual return: -9.43%

An investor purchasing 10 NEAR tokens in 2025 would face potential returns of -$34.29, while 2026 purchases would show -$1.60 in returns as of the current date.

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

NEAR’s price history from 2020 to 2026 demonstrates extreme volatility characteristic of early-stage blockchain protocols. The token has experienced multiple boom-and-bust cycles, with an initial crash of -98.52% in 2020, followed by a spectacular +731.06% recovery in 2021, only to decline sharply by -90.57% in 2022. Subsequent recovery phases in 2023 and 2024 showed positive but moderate returns before renewed weakness in 2025 and 2026.

The cumulative picture for a long-term investor purchasing 10 tokens during the 2020 inception period would reflect significant overall losses, highlighting the importance of timing and market cycle awareness in cryptocurrency investments.