Bitwise has launched the first US spot exchange-traded product tracking NEAR, giving investors direct exposure to the cryptocurrency through a fund listed on NYSE Arca. Trading under the ticker NRR, the Bitwise NEAR ETF arrives after a sharp rise in the token and increased use of NEAR’s cross-chain transaction infrastructure.
NRR gives investors direct NEAR exposure
The new ETF holds NEAR tokens directly rather than tracking the asset through derivatives. Bitwise will charge a 0.75% management fee and plans to stake a significant portion of the fund’s holdings. Staking generally involves committing tokens to support a blockchain’s operations, although the source material does not specify how much of NRR’s portfolio will be staked.
The product expands Bitwise’s US range of single-asset cryptocurrency funds. Its existing lineup includes products tracking Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Hyperliquid. The company had already launched a European NEAR exchange-traded product in June 2025, and Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the firm had been developing the US ETF since then.
The launch gives US investors access to NEAR through a regulated exchange-traded vehicle, rather than requiring them to purchase and hold the token directly. An ETF is a fund whose shares trade on an exchange, allowing investors to gain exposure to an underlying asset through a conventional brokerage account. The product’s performance will remain linked to NEAR’s market price, while its fee and direct token holdings are key features of the structure.
Token gains coincide with higher Intents volume
The ETF began trading as NEAR recorded a substantial recent advance. Cointelegraph reported that the token had gained about 167% over the month to Tuesday, reaching roughly $4.94, while its one-year gain stood at about 81%, citing CoinGecko data.
Bitwise also highlighted growth in NEAR Intents, a protocol designed to facilitate transactions across different blockchains. According to the asset manager, the system’s volume had risen above $32 billion, compared with less than $1 billion a year earlier.
Intents allows a user—or an autonomous software agent—to state the desired outcome of a transaction. Third-party “solvers” then compete to complete that transaction across supported networks. The model is intended to reduce the complexity associated with moving assets between blockchains, including the need to manage bridging and other technical steps directly.
Hougan said Bitwise sees artificial-intelligence agents as an expanding use case for NEAR and has already observed agents using the network. He added that most current activity remains driven by people, but expects agent-related activity to grow over time.
NEAR is a layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications. It shifted its strategic focus toward artificial intelligence in 2024 and has increasingly emphasized cross-chain infrastructure and autonomous agents. The broader idea is that software capable of acting independently could eventually need payment and settlement systems for machine-to-machine transactions.
Why AI agents are part of the investment story
The discussion around NEAR’s Intents protocol comes as financial institutions examine how autonomous software might affect digital-asset demand. A recent BlackRock research paper described AI as a potential structural catalyst for adoption of digital assets, including stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets.
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value relative to an underlying reference asset, commonly a fiat currency. BlackRock said programmable digital assets could be suitable for frequent, low-value transactions that run continuously. Such transactions could include interactions between software systems rather than conventional payments initiated by people.
Hougan said the goal-based design of Intents fits the way large language model-based agents operate, because it allows them to specify an outcome without handling every technical detail involved in cross-chain execution. The protocol’s growth therefore matters to Bitwise’s rationale for launching the ETF: the asset manager is presenting NEAR not only as a blockchain token, but also as part of infrastructure for cross-network transactions.
The protocol’s security role also received attention this week. NEAR Intents said it blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers associated with the $387.5 million Bitget hack. Its SHIELD system froze around $503,000 during execution, while approximately $166,000 in suspected stolen funds passed through the protocol. These figures relate to the protocol’s handling of the attempted transfers and do not change the ETF’s stated structure.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data recorded NEAR at $5.2270718147 at 09:24 on October 1, 2026, Tehran time. The token was up 2.97% over 24 hours and 25.78% over seven days.
For comparison, Moneyiar data at the same time showed Monad at $0.0321003976, up 17.97% over 24 hours and 34.58% over seven days. AI Rig Complex stood at $0.0723239394, rising 1.02% over 24 hours but falling 6.23% over seven days. Ontology was priced at $0.0586316734, with a 0.77% 24-hour gain and a 6.94% seven-day increase.
These market figures provide a snapshot after NRR’s launch and are separate from the CoinGecko figures cited for NEAR’s earlier monthly and annual performance.
