Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) Debuts at 0.75% Fee as Token Surges Amid $32B Volume Jump

What’s confirmed: All four outlets reviewed agree Bitwise’s spot NEAR Protocol exchange-traded fund, ticker NRR, began trading on NYSE Arca on Tuesday, carrying a 0.75% annual management fee and holding NEAR directly. Two sources independently cite the same underlying figure for NEAR Intents volume: $32 billion, up from under $1 billion a year earlier. The staking-fee split of 33% and the identity of the staking agent appear in only one outlet and should be read as single-sourced pending further confirmation.

The confirmed core: NRR, 0.75%, direct custody

Bitwise calls NRR the first US spot exchange-traded product tracking NEAR. The fund holds the token directly rather than through derivatives, with Coinbase Custody named as custodian in the prospectus. Bitwise intends to stake the NEAR the fund holds, a detail that appears across all four reports, though the exact share staked is described differently: one outlet says “all” of the fund’s NEAR, another says “a significant portion.”

NRR joins a Bitwise lineup that already includes Bitcoin (BITB), Ether (ETHW), Solana (BSOL), XRP (XRP) and Hyperliquid (BHYP), according to Cointelegraph. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the firm has been developing the US product since it launched a BaFin-approved NEAR staking fund in Europe in June 2025.

One number, two timeframes: the rally figure isn’t fully aligned

NEAR’s price move is where the sourcing gets interesting. Cointelegraph, citing CoinGecko data, put the token at roughly $4.94 on Tuesday, up about 167% over the trailing month and 81% over the trailing year. Decrypt’s headline instead framed the move as NEAR having “nearly tripled since August,” a different reference window that still points to the same broad magnitude of gain but is not a direct match to Cointelegraph’s 30-day figure. CryptoPotato separately noted the token traded near $5.00 on Coinbase.

Taken together, the three price-related mentions agree the token is up sharply and trading near $5, but they are not reporting the identical percentage from the identical starting point. Readers comparing headlines across outlets should treat “nearly tripled since August” and “up 167% in a month” as two overlapping but distinct measurements, not a single confirmed statistic.

Where the fee split is still single-sourced

CryptoPotato’s account of NRR’s staking economics is the most granular available: the fund is said to keep about 67% of the roughly 5% annual staking reward NEAR generates, with the remaining 33% covering expenses split among the staking agent, Coinbase Custody, and Bitwise itself. That report names Attestant, a Bitwise affiliate, as the expected staking agent, and notes Bitwise’s existing Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) pays a lower 25% staking-expense cut. None of the other three outlets in this comparison corroborate the 33% figure or the Attestant detail, so it stands as a single-source claim from the prospectus review rather than a cross-verified number.

CryptoPotato also reported that NRR’s SEC registration took effect on September 24, following an initial filing in May 2025. That specific regulatory timeline likewise appears in only one of the four accounts reviewed.

The AI-agent narrative behind the launch

Bitwise has framed NEAR’s growth around AI agents transacting on-chain. Hougan told CryptoPotato, “NEAR sits at the intersection of two of the biggest trends in technology: AI and crypto,” pointing to NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain settlement protocol, as an early proof point for agent-driven payments that don’t rely on a single custodian. The $32 billion volume figure on NEAR Intents, cited by both Bitwise and reproduced in Cointelegraph’s reporting, is the clearest quantitative anchor for that thesis so far.

Cointelegraph additionally noted that BlackRock published research last week arguing AI agents could increase demand for stablecoins, a separate data point that appeared in only that outlet’s coverage. NRR’s opening day on NYSE Arca gives US brokerage account holders their first direct, staking-enabled exposure to NEAR without needing a self-custody wallet.

Sources

• decrypt.co
• cryptopotato.com
• cointelegraph.com
• theblock.co