- Bitwise has launched the Bitwise NEAR ETF, or NRR, the first U.S. spot exchange-traded product providing direct exposure to NEAR.
- NRR began trading on NYSE Arca on Sept. 29 with a 0.75% management fee.
- Bitwise intends to stake the fund’s NEAR holdings in-house, with staking rewards accruing to shareholders through the ETF’s net asset value.
Bitwise has expanded its crypto ETF lineup with the launch of the first U.S. spot exchange-traded product offering direct exposure to NEAR.
The Bitwise NEAR ETF, trading under the ticker NRR, began trading on NYSE Arca on Sept. 29.
The fund carries a 0.75% annual management fee and gives investors exposure to NEAR through a traditional exchange-traded investment product.
Bitwise also plans to stake the NEAR held by the fund, adding another component to the ETF beyond price exposure.
Bitwise Plans to Stake NEAR Holdings
Bitwise intends to handle staking for the fund in-house.
Rewards generated from staking the ETF’s NEAR holdings will accrue to shareholders through the fund’s net asset value.
NEAR uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, allowing tokens to be staked to participate in network security and earn rewards.
The structure means NRR investors can gain exposure to both NEAR’s market price and the economic benefits generated from staking through the fund.
Bitwise Connects NEAR With AI Economy
Bitwise is positioning NEAR as blockchain infrastructure that could support an emerging economy increasingly powered by artificial intelligence agents.
“AI is fundamentally changing how we access information and how economic activity happens,” Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said.
Horsley said Bitwise expects AI agents to increasingly act on behalf of users, coordinate with one another and participate directly in economic activity.
“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,” he said.
NEAR Protocol is a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain designed to provide scalable infrastructure for decentralized applications.
Bitwise Expands Single-Asset Crypto ETF Lineup
NRR joins Bitwise’s growing collection of single-asset crypto exchange-traded products.
Its lineup includes the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Ethereum ETF, Bitwise Solana ETF, Bitwise XRP ETF and Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF.
The NEAR launch expands that strategy to another major blockchain network while introducing staking rewards as part of the fund’s structure.
At the time of the announcement, NEAR was trading around $4.93 with a market capitalization of approximately $6.5 billion, placing it among the top 20 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.
