• Near Protocol edges higher by 7% on Thursday, defying dominant bearish conditions in the broader crypto market.

• Near Protocol’s NEAR Intents integrates with Starknet to handle cross-chain interoperability at scale.

• Network users can swap assets from approximately 25 supported chains directly into Starknet, eliminating multi-step bridging.

Near Protocol (NEAR) is trading at $1.58 at the time of writing on Thursday amid widespread relief rebounds across the cryptocurrency market. NEAR’s intraday gains can be attributed to a key network upgrade that has paved the way for cross-chain interoperability for direct asset swaps.

NEAR Intents integrates Starknet, eliminating bridging steps 

Near Protocol’s NEAR Intents platform has integrated with Starknet, a ZK execution layer scaling Ethereum, effectively bringing chain-abstracted, intent-based swaps into the ecosystem. The upgrade allows users to seamlessly transition between Starknet and the broader cryptocurrency space without having to bridge or go through a complex multi-step process.

Since NEAR Intents is built on the NEAE Layer-1 blockchain, which is tailored to support cross-chain interoperability at scale, users can swap assets from approximately 25 supported blockchains directly into Starknet.

Users can also purchase Starknet (STRK) using over 100 tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and more.

Near Protocol stated that “NEAR Intents achieves all this through 'chain abstraction,' which reduces the friction that arises when users are forced to navigate complex, multi-step bridging or wrap complex assets manually, resulting in fragmented user experiences.”

Technical outlook: Near edges higher amid restricted rebounds 

Near Protocol rises by more than 7% to trade at $1.58 at the time of writing on Thursday. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has sharply climbed to 38 on the daily chart, confirming a short-term momentum. However, if the RSI remains within the bearish region, recovery could be limited by the short-term supply zone at $1.80.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is poised to confirm a buy signal on the same chart. This signal manifests with the blue MACD line crossing above the red signal line, prompting traders to increase exposure. 

Buyers should flip the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1.94 into support to ascertain NEAR’s recovery potential. Failure to do so could further limit the upside and increase the odds of a correction below the short-term support at $1.45.