TLDR
- Bitwise filed for a put NEAR ETF with the SEC.
- The ETF makes use of a belief mannequin with Coinbase Custody.
- NEAR tokens will duvet sponsor costs and charges.
- Over 70 crypto ETFs are pending SEC approval.
- Regulatory shifts would possibly perchance enhance crypto ETF approvals.
Digital asset management firm Bitwise has filed an S-1 registration assertion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Price (SEC) to open a put Shut to Protocol (NEAR) alternate-traded fund (ETF). The proposed ETF objectives to give brokerage-based fully mostly exposure to NEAR, enabling investors to secure admission to the asset by primitive investment accounts.
Bitwise has filed a Create S-1 with the U.S. SEC to open the Bitwise NEAR ETF, that can notice the label of NEAR held by the belief, bag of running costs and liabilities. https://t.co/dUCKFpx5i7
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May perchance presumably well 6, 2025
The submitting follows Bitwise’s contemporary registration of the Bitwise NEAR ETF entity in Delaware, which on the complete precedes formal submissions to the SEC. If accepted, the ETF will operate equally to the firm’s put bitcoin fund, BITB, by allowing investors to set label exposure with out straight retaining the NEAR token. The slide positions Bitwise amongst various issuers searching for to elongate crypto-based fully mostly investment vehicles for mainstream adoption.
Development and Custody of the Proposed NEAR ETF
Constant with the registration minute print, the Bitwise NEAR ETF will operate below a belief mannequin. The belief’s bag asset label (NAV) will doubtless be lowered day-to-day by a Sponsor Price, calculated in U.S. bucks and paid monthly in NEAR tokens. The Sponsor is also accountable for safeguarding usual operational charges corresponding to custody, audit, appropriate, and SEC submitting costs, as a lot as $500,000 each and every year.
Unprecedented costs now not covered by the Sponsor, alongside side regulatory actions, protocol upgrades, or appropriate disputes, would possibly perchance be settled by transferring or promoting NEAR held by the Trust. Bitwise has designated Coinbase Custody as the predominant custodian, the utilization of a chilly storage infrastructure to present protection to private keys. The resources are now not FDIC-insured but safeguarded below a fidelity insurance protection program designed to mitigate theft risks.
The Trust would possibly perchance use sizzling wallets or purchasing and selling platforms in outstanding instances by a mannequin identified as Agent Execution. In this setup, part of NEAR is placed in pooled accounts, though this mannequin is activated finest when the usual Trust-Directed Trading Model can now not be extinct. Bitwise intends to distribute holdings in retaining with security and insurance protection assessments if a contemporary custodian is added.
Broader ETF Market Trends and Regulatory Shifts
Bitwise’s NEAR ETF submitting provides to the growing record of cryptocurrency-linked ETFs trying forward to SEC choices. As of early May perchance presumably well, 72 crypto ETF applications are pending overview, in retaining with Bloomberg ETF analysts. These filings embody put, futures-based fully mostly, staking, and leveraged ETFs tied to a giant variety of digital resources, alongside side bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and more moderen tokens love SEI and PENGU.
There are literally 72 crypto-linked ETFs sitting with the SEC trying forward to approval to record or record alternatives. Every thing from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and every thing in between. Gonna be a wild year. Immense roundup from @JSeyff pic.twitter.com/IHTqqxeH35
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 21, 2025
The regulatory atmosphere for digital resources has considered principal developments. Following the exit of dilapidated SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the Price below contemporary Chair Paul Atkins has indicated a shift in the direction of more consistent and transparent regulatory standards. Atkins only in the near previous confirmed that creating a stable framework for digital asset markets is amongst the agency’s prime priorities.
Bitwise’s NEAR ETF proposal displays the persisted momentum in bringing regulated digital asset products to broader monetary markets. As regulatory instances evolve, the approval of such choices would possibly perchance extra integrate cryptocurrency exposure into primitive investment platforms.
