Bitwise launches NEAR ETF after token rallies more than 160%

Bitwise launched the first US spot exchange-traded product tracking NEAR on NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR. The fund will hold NEAR directly. It carries a 0.75% management fee. Bitwise intends to stake a significant portion of its tokens. NEAR gained about 167% over the past month and traded around $4.94 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko data. The token is up about 81% over the past year. Bitwise said volume on NEAR Intents rose to more than $32 billion from less than $1 billion a year ago. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said the firm has seen evidence of AI agents using NEAR. Hougan expects that use to increase, though he said most activity remains human-driven. Hougan said Bitwise has worked on the US ETF since launching a European NEAR product in June 2025. NEAR Intents lets users and AI agents specify transactions for third-party solvers to execute across supported blockchains. BlackRock said in a research paper that AI agents could increase demand for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. NEAR Intents said 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. Roughly $166,000 in suspected stolen funds passed through the protocol.