Crypto: Bitwise Launches the First Spot NEAR ETF in the United States

Bitwise launched on Tuesday the first US ETF backed by the NEAR token. Listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR, it shows 0.75% annual fees and places its tokens in staking, modeled after its Solana ETF. The token, booming since summer, becomes accessible without a crypto wallet.

The first NEAR ETF starts on NYSE Arca

Alternative crypto ETFs remain popular. Inflows accelerate on Bitwise’s XRP ETF, and the manager announced Tuesday the launch of the first listed fund directly holding NEAR tokens, “spot” as opposed to futures contracts.

Custody is handled by Coinbase Custody, administration by BNY Mellon. The case took over a year, from the trust established in April 2025 to the green light from the SEC and NYSE Arca on September 24.

Tokens will be placed 100% in staking through the Bitwise team. Staking consists of locking tokens to secure the network, in exchange for rewards of about 5% per year on NEAR. The prospectus warns that these returns are not guaranteed and that staking exposes to “slashing,” penalties for faulty validators.

NEAR, the AI bet that has tripled since August

The timing is no accident. The token jumped 80% in mid-September and almost tripled since its August lows ($1.60). It trades close to $5, with about $6.5 billion capitalization, still 75% below its record.

“NEAR is at the intersection of two of the biggest technology trends: AI and crypto“, summarizes Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer. AI agents will soon act on our behalf (reservations, payments, exchanges), and fast, reliable settlement rails are needed, without a single custodian.

The fund bets on NEAR Intents, its settlement protocol, whose volume exceeds $32 billion, compared to less than a billion a year earlier. The AI link is not just a posture, since its co-founder Illia Polosukhin co-wrote the founding article of the Transformer, the architecture of models like ChatGPT.

After NRR, the ETF race expands

NRR joins an already rich lineup, with BITB (bitcoin), ETHW (ether), BSOL (solana), XRP, and BHYP. In Europe, Bitwise already offers a NEAR ETP. NEAR Protocol news is settling into traditional finance, like Grayscale, which filed in January to convert its trust into an ETF.

For the investor, the equation has two sides. The 0.75% buys simplicity: no wallet or validator. But those who stake directly will incur fund fees and share some rewards. The fund also remains a single-asset bet, with a risk of total loss.

The real test begins. The coming weeks will tell if the fund finds its audience. Every breakout alternative crypto ETF paves the way for the next. The launch supports a larger thesis, of an economy where blockchains become the infrastructure of AI. Its translation into flows remains to be written.