What Is Fueling The Rise Of NEAR Protocol, Cosmos In January?

Cloud computing-centric layer-one network NEAR Protocol NEAR/USD and Cosmos ATOM/USD, a coin of a project that is described as an ecosystem of blockchains, have been stars of January — having risen 69.95% and 62.95% respectively so far in a 30-day period.

What’s Moving? Since 2022 and January began, NEAR and ATOM have gained 17.5% and 10.1%, respectively. Over a longer, 90-day period, NEAR and ATOM rose 145.75% and 16.4%.

NEAR rose to an all-time high of $18.28 on Tuesday, while ATOM touched its all-time high level of $44.70 in September.

See Also: How To Buy NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

Why Are They Moving? NEAR and ATOM’s gains have come at a time when major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD have shrunk 10.6% and 14.3% since January began.

Both the coins have performed well in January despite a “gloomy market” with other Layer 1 chains staying flat or seeing drawdowns to the extent of minus 20% to minus 40%, said Delphi Digital, in an emailed note.

NEAR prices have surged after the launch of Project Aurora, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

“One notable innovation was the use of ETH to pay for gas on Aurora, which makes for a seamless transition for Ethereum users who do not have to purchase the platform layer token just to pay for gas. For now, the gas fees are 100% subsidized,” wrote Delphi Digital.

As for ATOM, there is increased buzz surrounding the EVMOS (formerly Ethermint), which is due to be launched mid-January via rektdrop.

 EVMOS is touting EVM interoperability within the Inter Blockchain Communication (IBC), noted Delphi Digital.

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