Bitwise Asset Management has taken a significant step toward launching a spot Near (NEAR) exchange-traded fund (ETF) by filing an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move adds NEAR to a growing list of altcoins vying for regulatory approval in the U.S. The filing indicates that Bitwise aims to offer investors exposure to NEAR through a traditional brokerage, with Coinbase Custody proposed as the custodian. Details such as the ETF’s management fee, ticker symbol, and the exchange on which it will list are yet to be disclosed.
The NEAR token drives the Near Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain that aims to solve the “blockchain trilemma” by attaining scalability, security, and decentralization. With features like Nightshade sharding, Near can process up to 100,000 transactions per second and is secured by 265 active validators. The ecosystem has recently shifted focus from decentralized finance to artificial intelligence infrastructure, unveiling plans to build the world’s largest open-source large language model.
1/9) We can scale the L1 to billions now!
The blockchain trilemma has been solved with sharding; true horizontal scaling
NEAR & EGLD can theoretically scale to over 1M TPS right now! 🔥
Without compromising speed, security or decentralisation, that is the real cutting edge: 🧵
— Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) May 5, 2025
Bitwise’s filing comes amid a surge in applications for crypto ETFs, with the SEC reviewing at least a dozen spot crypto ETFs, including those for Litecoin, Dogecoin, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Hedera, Polkadot, Chainlink, Avalanche, Aptos, and Sui. The approval of Bitwise’s Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, which have attracted a combined $2.35 billion in net inflows since launching, underscores the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency investment vehicles.
As the SEC continues to evaluate these applications, the outcome of Bitwise’s NEAR ETF filing could set a precedent for future altcoin-based ETFs, potentially paving the way for broader adoption of cryptocurrency investment products in traditional financial markets.
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