Bitwise has launched the first US spot exchange-traded product (ETP) tracking the NEAR token, which began trading on NYSE Arca on Tuesday under the ticker NRR. This introduction of a traditional investment vehicle for the NEAR token coincides with a significant price surge and increased activity on the NEAR blockchain’s network.
The Bitwise NEAR ETF carries a management fee of 0.75% and will hold NEAR tokens directly, with plans to stake a substantial portion of the fund’s holdings. This launch follows Bitwise’s previous introduction of a European NEAR ETP in June 2025.
In recent weeks, the NEAR token has experienced notable price appreciation. According to CoinGecko data, the token gained approximately 167% over the past month, trading around $4.94 on Tuesday. Over the past year, the NEAR token is up about 81%.
This performance aligns with a broader strategic shift by the NEAR blockchain towards artificial intelligence (AI) use cases. In 2024, NEAR focused its strategy on AI, aiming to leverage its capabilities for decentralized applications and autonomous AI agents. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan told Cointelegraph that the firm views AI agents as a growing use case for NEAR, expecting this activity to increase over time.
Central to this strategy is NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain transaction protocol. Activity on NEAR Intents has seen a sharp increase, with volume rising to over $32 billion from less than $1 billion a year ago, according to Bitwise. The protocol allows users and AI agents to specify desired transactions, which third-party solvers then execute across supported blockchains. Hougan noted that the design of Intents aligns with the goal-based orientation of large language models (LLMs) and shields them from complexities like bridging.
NEAR Intents also demonstrated its utility this week by blocking over $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the Bitget hack. This incident highlighted the protocol’s role in securing transactions, although not all stolen funds were recovered.
Major financial institutions like BlackRock have also examined the intersection of AI and digital assets. A research paper from BlackRock suggested that AI agents could increase demand for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and tokenized assets as machine-to-machine transactions become more common, describing AI as a potential “structural catalyst” for digital asset adoption. Programmable assets, BlackRock noted, could be well-suited for high-frequency, low-value transactions.
The launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF offers investors a regulated avenue to gain exposure to the NEAR token. The ETF’s structure and Bitwise’s strategy to stake NEAR tokens are key details for potential investors. The growth in NEAR’s price and network activity, particularly driven by its AI focus and the expanding utility of NEAR Intents, provides the context for this new financial product.
Uncertainties remain regarding the exact amount of NEAR tokens Bitwise intends to stake and the precise extent to which AI agents will drive future activity on the NEAR network compared to human-driven transactions. The overall impact of AI on digital asset demand is also an evolving area of analysis.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: Bitwise launched a new exchange-traded product (ETP) in the US that tracks the NEAR token. The exact amount of NEAR tokens Bitwise intends to stake in the fund.
Broader Context
Source materials place the factual news in this context: Bitwise is a crypto asset manager.
