First Spot ETF for This Altcoin Starts Trading in the U.S.; Staking Planned, Too!

Bitwise has begun trading the first exchange-traded product in the U.S. offering direct spot exposure to NEAR on NYSE Arca, and plans to pass staking rewards earned on the fund’s assets on to investors.

According to a company announcement reported by The Block, the Bitwise NEAR ETF began trading under the ticker NRR on NYSE Arca on September 29. The new product allows investors to invest in NEAR through exchange-traded fund shares.

The fund’s management fee was set at 0.75 percent. Bitwise aims to reflect in the fund’s net asset value (NAV) the rewards earned by staking the NEAR assets it holds.

How will staking rewards be passed on to investors?

Staking generates rewards in return for using assets to help operate a blockchain network. Under Bitwise’s plan, these rewards will be added to the fund’s assets and reflected for shareholders through its net asset value. This means the product aims to offer exposure not only to NEAR’s price movements but also to staking rewards.

NRR joins Bitwise’s single-asset crypto investment products for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Hyperliquid.

Bitwise focuses on the AI economy with NEAR

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley pointed to a future in which AI agents transact on behalf of people, coordinate with one another, and participate in economic activity. Horsley said NEAR is building a platform for this transformation.

NEAR Protocol is a blockchain platform that aims to make it easier to develop and deploy decentralized applications. The network uses a proof-of-stake mechanism to validate transactions.

At the time of writing, NEAR was trading at around $4.93, while its market capitalization stood at approximately $6.5 billion. Excluding stablecoins, the token ranked among the 20 cryptocurrencies with the highest market capitalizations.