Bitwise Seeks SEC Approval for Spot NEAR ETF

Bitwise Asset Management has joined the group of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) applications on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) desk, seeking approval for its spot ETFs, which track the price of its respective tokens.

On May 6, 2025, Bitwise filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot NEAR ETF that tracks the price movements of the NEAR token.

Like other ETFs, the proposed ETF aims to provide investors with direct exposure to the NEAR token, which powers the Near Protocol.

The Bitwise NEAR ETF (the “Trust”) is structured as a Delaware statutory trust and will issue shares representing fractional ownership of the NEAR tokens held in custody.

In addition, Bitwise named Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC, as the designated custodian responsible for safeguarding the fund’s NEAR holdings.

The ETF will establish its net asset value (NAV) by referencing the CF NEAR-Dollar Settlement Price, calculated by CF Benchmarks Ltd.

The Trust is sponsored and managed by Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC.

This filing follows Bitwise’s registration of a trust entity for the NEAR ETF in Delaware on April 28, 2025. The next step in the approval process involves submitting a 19b-4 filing, which is necessary for the SEC to review and decide whether to allow the ETF to trade on U.S. markets.

“The Trust provides investors with the opportunity to access the market for NEAR through a traditional brokerage account without the potential barriers to entry or risks involved with acquiring and holding NEAR directly,”

the filing read

More Tokens Seek U.S. SEC’s Approval For Exchange-Traded Funds

Bitwise’s move to launch a NEAR ETF comes amid a growing interest in altcoin-based ETFs.

The SEC is currently reviewing multiple applications for spot crypto ETFs, including those for Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Hedera (HBAR), Polkadot (DOT), Chainlink (LINK), Avalanche (AVAX), Aptos (APT), and Sui (SUI).

As of May 7, 2025, NEAR is trading at approximately $2.34, with a market capitalization of around $2.73 billion, making it the 44th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.