Bitwise brings staking-enabled NEAR fund to NYSE Arca
Tech & Launches ·
The asset manager's new NRR product marks the first U.S. spot ETF for NEAR, pairing token exposure with an in-house staking mechanism.
Bitwise's spot NEAR ETF, trading under ticker NRR, began trading Tuesday on NYSE Arca as the first spot NEAR exchange-traded product registered in the U.S.. The fund carries a 0.75% management fee and is structured so that Bitwise stakes the underlying NEAR tokens directly, passing rewards through to shareholders. After a 33% cut taken from staking proceeds, holders are positioned to receive an average yield of roughly 5%, based on NEAR's typical staking returns of around 5%.
The launch gives U.S.-based investors a regulated wrapper for both token price exposure and staking income in a single vehicle, something not previously available domestically for this asset. Rather than requiring investors to run their own validator setup or use offshore platforms, the ETF structure lets the yield accrue inside a listed product. NRR is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning it does not carry the same investor protections as traditional mutual funds or 1940 Act-registered ETFs.
The token itself moved sharply around the launch. NEAR climbed roughly 5-6% intraday and is up more than 160% over the prior month, following a run of nearly 200% in the period leading up to the ETF's debut. That pre-launch rally suggests a substantial share of the anticipated approval-driven demand may already be reflected in the price, leaving open the question of how much further upside the ETF listing itself can generate.
The move coincided with a broader risk-on shift across crypto markets. Bitcoin rose to $85,600 after U.S. inflation data came in softer than forecast, a development that lifted altcoins generally, as reported by cryptopotato.com. Separately, comparative data circulating on the same theme placed NEAR's yield profile alongside eight other protocols that return revenue to holders through buybacks or burns, ranking annual returns from about 10% APY down to 0.8% across the group, a comparison shared on x.com.
What remains unclear is how the fund's staking yield will behave once initial post-launch trading volume settles, and whether NEAR's price can hold its recent gains without the launch catalyst driving continued inflows. Six distinct sources have covered the rollout so far, but neither Bitwise nor market data yet show how assets under management or staking participation rates are trending in the days following the debut.