Bitwise Asset Management has launched the Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR), the first U.S. spot exchange-traded product offering direct exposure to NEAR Protocol’s native token. Trading began on Monday, Sept. 29, on NYSE Arca, according to Bitwise, with the fund carrying a management fee of 0.75%.
Unlike derivative-based products, NRR holds NEAR directly. Its creation and redemption units contain 10,000 shares, so new creations can require the fund to acquire underlying NEAR tokens, potentially linking ETF inflows to spot market demand. Bitwise said it intends to stake the fund’s NEAR holdings through its institutional staking operation, with staking rewards accruing to shareholders through the fund’s net asset value. The firm cited an annualized NEAR staking reward rate of around 5% as of Sept. 25, though the rate can change and is not a guaranteed return.
At the time of the launch, NEAR traded around $4.93 with a market capitalization of about $6.5 billion. The token had already rallied sharply ahead of the fund’s debut, rising from roughly $2.62 on Sept. 16 toward $5 after NYSE Arca approved the listing application. By Sept. 25, NEAR had gained around 43% over seven days and was up roughly 176% for the year, suggesting part of the ETF catalyst may have been priced in before the first trading session.
Bitwise is positioning NEAR as infrastructure for an emerging AI-powered economy. CEO Hunter Horsley said: “AI is fundamentally changing how we access information and how economic activity happens... We believe this shift—to an agentic economy where more and more happens through AI agents—could unlock an enormous new frontier for the global economy. NEAR is building a platform for that future.”
Bitwise also highlighted NEAR Intents, which it says has processed more than $32 billion in volume, up from less than $1 billion a year earlier. The network’s confidential total value locked crossed $70 million earlier in September, and NEAR has introduced staking-based AI payments supporting models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. NRR joins Bitwise’s single-asset crypto ETP lineup, which already includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Hyperliquid products.
