Bitwise Proposes NEAR ETP NRR with Up to 100% Staking — SEC Review Pending

Bitwise has named NRR as the ticker for its proposed spot NEAR product, according to a third amendment to its Form S-1 registration filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 31. The filing advances Bitwise’s plan to list a NYSE Arca-traded exchange-traded product (ETP) backed by NEAR Protocol tokens — but trading cannot begin until the SEC and exchange approvals are secured. Key details from the filing - Ticker: NRR (proposed). - Filing: Third amendment to Form S-1, submitted July 31. Original registration was filed in May 2025. - Structure: Legally an exchange-traded product (ETP), not a traditional investment company ETF. - Seed capital: Bitwise Asset Management provided $200 of seed money, buying eight shares at $25 each. - Fees: The amendment does not disclose a management fee or any introductory fee waiver; those terms may appear in future filings. - Custody/administration: The Bank of New York Mellon named as cash custodian, administrator and transfer agent; Coinbase Custody Trust Company will hold the NEAR tokens. Staking is a key differentiator Bitwise said the trust would primarily track the value of NEAR held by the fund (less operating costs and liabilities), but it added staking as a secondary objective. The trust may stake up to 100% of its NEAR holdings to capture protocol rewards that could increase the NEAR backing each share. That approach would set NRR apart from pure “spot price” products, but it also brings added complexities and risks — including validator performance, custody and liquidity challenges, and delays or constraints when unstaking tokens. The filing makes clear the trust may keep some NEAR liquid to meet redemptions, pay expenses, or respond to market conditions; it does not guarantee all assets will be staked at all times. Market context and competition Bitwise’s NEAR push comes amid broader interest from U.S. asset managers to expand beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Grayscale has also amended a filing for a proposed NEAR product. Wall Street firms are already moving into multi-asset crypto ETPs: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched exchange-traded products tracking Ethereum and Solana in late July (MSSE and MSOL on NYSE Arca), each charging a 0.14% annual fee. Those launches make a wider basket of tokens available to brokerage customers who don’t want to manage wallets or private keys; an approved NEAR product would extend that access to another proof-of-stake network. Still, approval alone does not guarantee commercial success. Hashdex recently announced it will close its U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETF, DEFI, after struggling to attract assets and trading — the fund managed about $14.7 million as of July 30 and will cease trading after the market close on Aug. 17 — underscoring that fees, liquidity and investor demand remain decisive factors. Price and market reaction NEAR traded near $1.73 after a roughly 4% intraday gain (range $1.69–$1.73) following Bitwise’s amended filing and the rollout of the Nearcore 2.13 network upgrade. Spot trading volume fell about 10% over the previous 24 hours, indicating the price move had limited breadth. Derivatives activity was firmer: CoinGlass data showed NEAR futures open interest rising nearly 6% to about $365.17 million, suggesting increased leveraged positioning by traders. Next steps NRR remains subject to the SEC’s review process and Bitwise has not set a launch date. Expect subsequent amendments to disclose management fees, any fee waivers and final operating terms if and when the product moves closer to approval.