NEAR Protocol edges past Avalanche in 24-hour DEX volume

NEAR Protocol just beat Avalanche at its own game, at least for a day. According to DefiLlama, NEAR logged $197.55 million in 24-hour decentralized exchange volume as of October 1, 2026.

Avalanche came in at $193.92 million over the same window.

The numbers behind the flip

By that measure, NEAR outpaced Avalanche on DefiLlama’s chain rankings for spot DEX data.

The bigger story is what is powering NEAR’s activity. Much of the momentum traces back to NEAR Intents, the network’s intent-based trading architecture.

Instead of manually plotting every step of a trade, a user states the outcome they want, and the system works out how to deliver it.

NEAR Intents has processed more than $31 billion in cumulative DEX volume, according to the research findings. Daily volume through the system reportedly topped $300 million at its peak in mid-to-late September 2026.

So the $197.55 million figure, while enough to pass Avalanche, actually sits below that recent high.

TVL, Rhea Finance and a privacy twist

NEAR’s native-chain TVL has recently moved in a range of around $194 million to $230 million. That growth has been tied to rising interest in liquidity projects such as Rhea Finance, along with liquid staking protocols across the ecosystem.

Advances in privacy features within NEAR’s intent mechanisms have reportedly drawn activity connected to Zcash.

The NEAR token posted roughly 78% weekly gains in mid-to-late September 2026, according to reports cited in the research.

How NEAR got here

NEAR’s path has leaned heavily on the intent model, essentially a bet that most people do not want to think about routing, bridges or liquidity pools. The $31 billion in cumulative volume suggests a meaningful number of users agree.

DefiLlama remains the main public source for these chain-level DEX comparisons.

What this means for NEAR, Avalanche and DeFi traders

A chain that previously hit daily intent volume above $300 million, holds TVL in the $194 million to $230 million range, and is pulling in privacy-oriented flows linked to Zcash presents an ecosystem with several engines running at once.

Avalanche’s $193.92 million in daily volume is still substantial, and losing a single-day ranking by a hair says more about NEAR’s rise than about Avalanche’s health.