Digital Asset Institutional Shift: Bitwise Launches First US Spot NEAR ETF With Staking Fees Taking 33% of Rewards

In an important development shaping the global Finance space, Asset manager Bitwise has officially launched a spot NEAR Protocol (NEAR) exchange-traded fund on NYSE Arca on Tuesday, with a 0.75% annual management fee. Recent observations, according to dispatches from CryptoPotato (Crypto & Financial Markets), point to structural shifts with notable ramifications for industry participants and analysts alike.

Asset manager Bitwise has officially launched a spot NEAR Protocol (NEAR) exchange-traded fund on NYSE Arca on Tuesday, with a 0.75% annual management fee. The fund trades under the ticker NRR and holds NEAR directly, with Coinbase Custody as custodian. Its registration took effect with the SEC on September 24, after Bitwise first filed in May 2025. Fees Take a Third of Rewards Bitwise called NRR the first spot NEAR exchange-traded product in the US. The company already runs a BaFin-approved NEAR staking product in Europe. “NEAR sits at the intersection of two of the biggest trends in technology: AI and crypto,” said Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise. Hougan also said that AI agents that make payments and trades for their users will need fast settlement that does not rely on a single custodian, and pointed to NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain transaction protocol, as an early example. Bitwise said the protocol has processed over $32 billion in volume, up from under $1 billion a year earlier. The company outlined NEAR’s market value, which is above $6 billion. The token traded near $5.00 on Coinbase on Tuesday. Moreover, Bitwise plans to stake all of the fund’s NEAR, according to its final prospectus. The release puts NEAR’s average staking reward at about 5% a year, based on the rate on September 25. The fund keeps about 67% of the NEAR its staking generates. The other 33% covers staking expenses, which the prospectus says are shared among the staking agent, Coinbase Custody, and Bitwise. That staking agent is expected to be Attestant, which the prospectus lists as a Bitwise affiliate. Bitwise’s Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP), which launched in May with in-house staking, pays 25% of its rewards as staking expenses. Bitwise’s Avalanche ETF (BAVA) sets staking expenses at 12%, according to its April prospectus. Both funds charge a 0.34% management fee. The NEAR prospectus warns that staking could slow redemptions. Staked NEAR takes about 48 hours to unlock under normal conditions, according to the site. Grayscale’s NEAR Conversion Still Pending Grayscale filed in January to convert its NEAR trust into a spot ETF. That trust still trades over-the-counter under the ticker GSNR. It charges a 2.5% annual fee, according to Grayscale’s June 12 amendment. The trust’s shares have traded above the value of its NEAR, sometimes by a wide margin, the amendment says. The same amendment leaves the proposed ETF’s annual fee blank. The post Bitwise Launches First US Spot NEAR ETF With Staking Fees Taking 33% of Rewards appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Market & Strategic Implications

Beyond immediate headlines, market participants are weighing secondary effects. The intersection of capital allocations, regulatory scrutiny, and shifting macroeconomic postures continues to elevate risk sensitivity across comparable assets and jurisdictions.

As further clarity emerges in upcoming briefings, institutional observers emphasize unit economics, policy enforcement, and counterparty exposure as primary barometers for long-term trajectory.