Bitwise Joins the Race for ETF Approval with NEAR Investment Product

According to its May 6 registration, Bitwise plans to launch a spot NEAR ETF that tracks the price movements of the NEAR token (excluding expenses) and allows investors to trade through traditional brokerage platforms.

Coinbase Custody has been proposed as the custodian for the ETF. However, details such as the fund’s ticker symbol, management fee, and the exchange on which it will be listed have yet to be disclosed. Bitwise is also required to file a 19b-4 form to formally initiate the SEC’s review process. On April 28, Bitwise registered a trust for the NEAR ETF in Delaware as a preparatory step.

NEAR Joins a Line of Pending Crypto Spot ETFs

NEAR becomes the latest cryptocurrency to join the queue of digital assets awaiting SEC approval for spot ETFs, alongside DOGE, SOL, and XRP — all of which Bitwise has also submitted filings for. The firm already has SEC-approved spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ether, currently listed on NYSE Arca, with total net inflows reaching $2.35 billion since their launch last year.

NEAR is the native token of the Near Protocol — a layer-1 blockchain — currently ranked as the 44th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, valued at approximately $2.73 billion, according to CoinGecko data. Once dubbed an “Ethereum killer,” Near aims to solve the blockchain trilemma of achieving security, scalability, and decentralization.

Utilizing its Nightshade sharding technology, Near can process up to 100,000 transactions per second and is secured by 265 active validators, according to Nearblocks.io.

In 2024, the Near ecosystem shifted its focus from decentralized finance (DeFi) to artificial intelligence infrastructure, announcing plans to build the world’s largest open-source large language model.