Crypto News: CoinDesk 20 Edges Down 0.3% as Market Splits — NEAR Leads Gains, Ethereum Lag

The CoinDesk 20 Index slipped 0.3% to 1,711.60 on Friday, a modest decline that masks a genuinely mixed session — ten of the twenty constituents traded higher, marking the first balanced session after a stretch of broad declines earlier in the week.NEAR Protocol led gainers with a 2.7% advance, followed by Cardano at 1.0% — a notable reversal for NEAR after it was among the worst performers earlier in the week, down 4.3% on Tuesday. Cardano's gain comes as the token continues attempting to stabilize near its four-year low around $0.16 following founder Charles Hoskinson's "wave of failures" warning.The index level of 1,711.60 represents a modest recovery from earlier-week lows near 1,663, though it remains well below the 2,184 level recorded in early May — reflecting the cumulative impact of five weeks of macro and crypto-specific headwinds even as Friday's session shows the first signs of two-sided trading rather than uniform selling.Friday's session arrives alongside the SpaceX IPO — the largest in history at a $1.8 trillion valuation — which is absorbing significant market attention and potentially capital that might otherwise flow toward digital assets. With ten of twenty CoinDesk 20 constituents trading higher despite that competing capital event, the balanced performance suggests crypto markets may be finding some footing independent of the SpaceX listing's gravitational pull.