Bitwise launches first US spot NEAR ETF after token’s recent surge

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has launched the first US spot exchange-traded product tracking NEAR, giving investors exposure to the token through a fund trading on NYSE Arca.The Bitwise NEAR ETF, trading under the ticker NRR, carries a 0.75% management fee and will hold NEAR directly, with Bitwise intending to stake a significant portion of the fund’s tokens.The launch comes as activity on NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain transaction protocol, has increased sharply, with volume rising to more than $32 billion compared with less than $1 billion a year ago, according to Bitwise.Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan told Cointelegraph that the firm sees AI agents as a growing use case for NEAR and has already seen evidence of agents using the network. He expects that activity to increase over time, although most activity on NEAR today remains human-driven.Hougan added that Bitwise has been working on the US NEAR ETF since launching its European NEAR exchange-traded product in June 2025. NRR joins its US lineup of single-asset crypto products tracking Bitcoin (BITB), Ether (ETHW), Solana (BSOL), XRP (XRP) and Hyperliquid (BHYP).The NEAR token has rallied sharply over the ...