Bitwise launched the first US ETF backed by the NEAR token on Tuesday. Listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR, it displays 0.75% annual fees and places its tokens in staking, based on the model of its Solana ETF. The token, which has been booming since the summer, is becoming accessible without a crypto wallet.
In brief
- NRR has been trading since Tuesday on the NYSE Arca, at 0.75% annual fees.
- It places 100% of its tokens in staking and targets network rewards, around 5% per year, unguaranteed.
- NEAR is trading around $5, nearly triple its August low, but 75% below its record.
First NEAR ETF launches on NYSE Arca
Alternative crypto ETFs remain popular. Inflows Accelerate on Bitwise’s XRP ETF, and Manager announced Tuesday the launch of the first listed fund directly holding NEAR tokens, of the “spot” against futures contracts.
Custody returns to Coinbase Custodyadministration at BNY Mellon. The file took more than a year, from the trust formed in April 2025 to the green light from the SEC and NYSE Arca on September 24.
The tokens will be placed in 100% staking, via the Bitwise team. Staking involves locking up tokens to secure the network, for rewards of around 5% per year on NEAR. The prospectus warns that these returns are not guaranteed and that staking exposes itself to “slashing”, penalties for faulty validators.
NEAR, the AI bet that has tripled since August
The calendar owes nothing to chance. The token surged 80% in mid-September and almost tripled from its August lows ($1.60). It is moving close to 5 dollars, for around 6.5 billion in capitalization, still 75% below its record.
“ NEAR sits at the intersection of two of the biggest tech trends: AI and crypto “, summarizes Matt Hougan, investment director of Bitwise. AI agents will soon act on our behalf (reservations, payments, exchanges), and we will need fast and reliable payment rails, without a single custodian.
The fund is banking on NEAR Intents, its settlement protocol, whose volume exceeds 32 billion dollars, compared to less than a billion a year earlier. The link with AI is not just a posture, since its co-founder Illia Polosukhin co-wrote the founding article of 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. The news of NEAR Protocol is moving 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% buy simplicity, no wallet or validator. But who already stakes directly will accumulate the fund’s fees and a share of the rewards. The fund also remains a single-asset bet, with a risk of total loss.
The real test begins. The coming weeks will tell whether the fund finds its audience. Each alternative crypto ETF that breaks through paves the way for the next one. The launch serves a broader thesis, that of an economy where blockchains become the infrastructure for AI. Its translation into flow remains to be written.
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