Key Highlights Bitwise introduced America’s inaugural spot NEAR ETF with the ticker NRR, debuting on NYSE Arca September 29. NEAR’s price hovered between $4.94 and $4.97, reflecting a remarka
In a landmark move for digital asset investing, Bitwise has introduced the United States’ inaugural spot exchange-traded fund focused on NEAR Protocol. The investment vehicle commenced trading September 29 on NYSE Arca, operating under the ticker symbol NRR.
The future is NEAR.
Introducing $NRR—the Bitwise NEAR ETF—giving investors exposure to the emerging agentic economy.$NRR is the first spot $NEAR ETP in the U.S. and offers in-house staking to maximize NEAR's ~5% staking rewards.*
Why @NEARprotocol?
↳ Built at the… pic.twitter.com/mdMRSBljz4
— Bitwise (@Bitwise) September 29, 2026
The fund maintains direct holdings of NEAR tokens and implements a 0.75% yearly management charge. Investors can access shares during standard market hours via conventional brokerage platforms.
Additionally, Bitwise intends to participate in network staking using the fund’s token holdings through its institutional operations division. The firm referenced the network’s current staking yield approximating 5%, while acknowledging that returns may fluctuate.
On Tuesday, NEAR’s market price settled around $4.94, based on CoinGecko tracking. The digital asset has experienced an impressive 167% appreciation throughout the preceding month and demonstrates an 81% year-over-year increase.
NEAR Price
The comprehensive cryptocurrency marketplace expanded 0.69% to reach $2.9 trillion during this timeframe. Bitcoin positioned itself near $84,000, Ether approached $2,700, XRP maintained levels above $1.50, while Solana traded beyond $120.
Notwithstanding the monthly advancement, NEAR experienced a 4.62% decline across 24 hours, settling near $4.97. The asset nonetheless sustained levels above $4.90 when the ETF announcement emerged.
The NEAR Intents framework, which facilitates cross-chain transaction routing, has witnessed transaction volume escalate beyond $32 billion. This represents a substantial expansion compared to the less than $1 billion recorded approximately twelve months earlier.
In conversation with Cointelegraph, Bitwise’s chief investment officer Matt Hougan highlighted artificial intelligence agents as an emerging application for NEAR. He noted that current network utilization remains predominantly human-initiated.
NEAR Protocol’s verified account commemorated the ETF debut on X, stating that the Bitwise NEAR ETF provides institutional participants exposure to “the protocol powering universal markets, the privacy renaissance, and user-owned AI.” The announcement referenced additional fund information and featured listing visuals.
In research published the previous week, BlackRock suggested that AI agents might accelerate demand for stablecoins and tokenized instruments as automated machine-to-machine commerce becomes increasingly prevalent. The investment giant identified artificial intelligence as a potential catalyst for broader digital asset integration.
Hougan identified cross-blockchain functionality as a significant contributor to Intents’ expansion. He observed that blockchain bridging has presented persistent obstacles for nearly ten years, imposing both temporal and financial burdens on participants.
Four-hour interval charting positioned NEAR near $4.93, with the latest candlestick showing a 0.35% uptick. This movement followed September’s rally from approximately $2.00 to levels exceeding $5.00.
Source: TradingView
The four-hour relative strength index registered 51.57, indicating near-neutral momentum. The MACD indicator remained beneath its signal line, accompanied by negative histogram values.
A sustained break above $5.00 could establish pathways toward $5.30, followed by $6.00. Conversely, inability to maintain $5.00 might trigger retracement toward $4.70, with $4.50 representing additional downside support.
Separately, NEAR Intents successfully prevented over $50 million in transfers associated with this week’s $387.5 million Bitget exploit. The protocol’s SHIELD security mechanism immobilized roughly $503,000 during transaction processing, though approximately $166,000 in potentially compromised assets transited through the system.
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