Bitwise Launches First US Spot Near ETF After Token Nearly Triples Since August
Bitwise launched a U.S. spot NEAR ETF on NYSE Arca under ticker NRR, giving brokerage-account access to the NEAR token without needing a crypto exchange or wallet. The fund charges a 0.75% annual fee and holds actual NEAR, not futures. Bitwise also stakes the tokens, aiming to earn about 5% rewards that flow into fund value, though staking risks include changing rewards and slashing penalties. NEAR is a layer-1 blockchain focused on AI, tied to co-founder Illia Polosukhin, a co-creator of the Transformer architecture behind modern AI models. Bitwise is marketing the fund around AI agents and the “agentic economy,” and cites Near Intents as having processed more than $32 billion in volume. The ETF launch comes after a strong rebound in NEAR’s price, which is now just above $5, though still far below its all-time high above $20. Regulatory changes in 2025 helped open the door for more crypto ETFs.
