Bitwise Asset Management has submitted an amended S-1 registration statement for its proposed spot NEAR Protocol exchange-traded fund to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The July 2, 2026 filing updates the Bitwise NEAR ETF by adding staking as a secondary objective alongside providing regulated exposure to the NEAR token. The amendment designates NYSE Arca as the planned listing exchange, names The Bank of New York Mellon as cash custodian, administrator and transfer agent, and appoints Coinbase Custody to hold the underlying NEAR tokens. The filing also expands risk disclosures related to staking, including tax treatment, market volatility and redemption liquidity.
The amendment, which is the second revision in nearly a year, does not yet reveal a ticker symbol or management fee. Staking has become a focal point in crypto ETF applications as asset managers seek to generate additional returns for investors within a regulated structure. The SEC’s stance on staking inside spot funds is being closely watched by the industry, with Grayscale having also advanced its own NEAR ETF proposal.
The updated filing coincided with a nearly 12% price surge in NEAR, which broke above a multi-week descending trendline and reclaimed the $2.04 level, near the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. Technical indicators such as MACD and Aroon signaled strengthening bullish momentum. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted that holding support around €1.70 could open the way for a rally toward €2.20–€2.30. The broader institutional interest, combined with the filing catalyst, has improved NEAR’s technical outlook as the token targets resistance levels at $2.14, $2.24 and eventually the June high near $2.56.
