Bitwise NEAR ETF Starts Trading on NYSE Arca

Bitwise Asset Management has launched its NEAR exchange-traded product, trading under the ticker NRR on NYSE Arca since September 29. The fund charges a 0.75% management fee and holds NEAR directly rather than using derivatives. This gives U.S. investors straightforward access through standard brokerage accounts without needing to handle cryptocurrency exchanges or wallets.

Fund creations occur in blocks of 10,000 shares. Any new share creations could require the product to purchase underlying NEAR tokens, directly linking inflows to market demand for the asset. Bitwise plans to stake a portion of the holdings through its institutional staking operation, with rewards accruing to shareholders via the fund's net asset value.

Staking Rewards and Token Commitment

Bitwise has set a target of participating in average annualized staking rewards of around 5% as of September 25. The rate is not guaranteed and may fluctuate. Tokens committed to staking participate in the network's proof-of-stake system and are not immediately available for market trading.

NEAR already has a significant portion of its supply staked. Bitwise's analysis put the network's staking ratio at approximately 45% in July. This approach differs from a basic spot product because committed tokens support network operations while rewards flow back to NRR holders.

NEAR's Market Position Ahead of Launch

NEAR traded around $4.93 at launch, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.5 billion. The asset had rallied significantly in the lead-up to the ETF debut, gaining roughly 43% over seven days by September 25 and rising about 176% for the year. The token's price had moved from around $2.62 on September 16 to near $5 as the product cleared regulatory steps.

NEAR Intents, the protocol's transaction infrastructure, has processed more than $32 billion in cumulative volume, up from less than $1 billion a year earlier. On-chain activity in confidential total value locked crossed $70 million earlier in the month, triggering the first incentive snapshot.

Bitwise Ties NEAR to AI Infrastructure

Bitwise has emphasized NEAR's role in supporting AI agents and autonomous economic activity. The network's Intents framework allows users and software to execute transactions across multiple blockchains without manual routing. It has demonstrated settlement capabilities for payments and swaps in AI contexts.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley noted that AI is fundamentally changing information access and economic activity, with agents increasingly handling coordination and participation directly. The company expects NEAR to build infrastructure for this shift.

Bullish Outlook for NEAR Development

Bitwise has outlined three scenarios for NEAR by the end of 2030. The bearish case projects $1.63, the base case $155.80, and the bullish case $562.80. The base scenario assumes NEAR becomes a leading transaction and payment network for AI agents, with approximately 2% of an estimated 16.4 billion global AI agents using the ecosystem. Each agent would perform about 1,000 operations yearly at an average value of $5, driving substantial transaction volume.

Bitwise noted that the base-case figure of $155.80 is illustrative rather than the most probable outcome. The fund joins Bitwise's lineup of single-asset crypto products, which manages around $9 billion in client assets as of June 30.

Broader NEAR Ecosystem Growth

NEAR's development includes staking-based AI payments launched in July, allowing users to lock tokens for monthly compute credits across 43 models from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Spot trading also went live on Hyperliquid on September 23, with NEAR/USDC pairs and perpetual open interest near $344 million.

These developments have strengthened interest in the asset, though the ETF launch itself does not guarantee continued inflows. Post-launch trading volumes and creation activity will serve as key indicators of sustained demand.