Bitwise launches U.S. spot NEAR ETF as token rally lifts crypto product lineup

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Bitwise launches NEAR ETF

Highlights

Bitwise launched the U.S. spot NEAR ETF (ticker NRR) on NYSE Arca with a 0.75% management fee, providing direct NEAR exposure and staking benefits.
NEAR price surged 167% in the past month to $4.94 and NEAR Intents protocol transaction volume soared from under $1 billion to more than $32 billion year-over-year.
NEAR Intents blocked over $50 million in illicit transfers from the $387.5 million Bitget hack, with its SHIELD system freezing about $503,000 during execution.

Fund launch and product strategy

As reported by Cointelegraph, the Bitwise NEAR ETF begins trading under the ticker NRR and gives investors direct exposure to NEAR through a spot structure listed on NYSE Arca. The fund carries a 0.75% management fee, holds NEAR directly and, according to Bitwise, is expected to stake a significant portion of the tokens it owns.

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan says the firm has been working on a U.S. NEAR ETF since launching its European NEAR exchange-traded product in June 2025. NRR joins Bitwise's existing U.S. single-asset crypto lineup tracking Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Hyperliquid.

The token's market momentum has added to the backdrop for the launch. NEAR has gained about 167% over the past month to trade near $4.94 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko data, and is up about 81% over the past year.

AI and cross-chain activity drive NEAR outlook

NEAR, a layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications, shifted its strategy toward AI in 2024 and is focusing more heavily on cross-chain infrastructure and autonomous AI agents. Hougan says Bitwise sees AI agents as a growing use case for the network and has already observed signs of agents using NEAR, though most current activity remains human-driven.

Bitwise says activity on NEAR Intents, the network's cross-chain transaction protocol, has climbed to more than $32 billion from less than $1 billion a year earlier. Hougan says the protocol's design fits the goal-based orientation of large language models and reduces the complexity of bridging assets across blockchains, an area that has long created friction and losses for crypto users.

The broader market is also examining whether autonomous software could increase demand for blockchain-based payment rails. BlackRock said last week in a research paper that AI agents could become a structural catalyst for digital asset adoption by driving machine-to-machine use of stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets.

NEAR Intents also draws attention this week after the protocol says it blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the $387.5 million Bitget hack. Its SHIELD system froze about $503,000 during execution, while roughly $166,000 in suspected stolen funds moved through the protocol.

Our earlier report on the “multi-money” future of FX examined how CBDCs, tokenised deposits, stablecoins and traditional currencies are starting to coexist across multiple payment and settlement systems. We noted that initiatives such as the Eurosystem’s Pontes tests and other cross-border settlement projects aim to improve interoperability and speed, while keeping settlement risk, liquidity fragmentation and robust controls at the center of market design.

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