Bitwise files to list a spot NEAR ETF with the SEC

Crypto investment firm Bitwise has taken a step to launch a spot NEAR exchange-traded fund.

Bitwise filed an S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 6.

This proposed Bitwise NEAR ETF would follow the price of NEAR, minus fees. Investors could buy and sell it through regular stock brokerages.

Coinbase Custody is expected to hold the fund’s assets safely. Details like the ETF’s fee, ticker symbol, and the stock exchange it would trade on, haven't been revealed yet.

To move forward, Bitwise also needs to file another document (called a 19b-4) to officially start the SEC's review process.

Bitwise has already registered a trust for the ETF in Delaware on April 28, 2025.

NEAR Joins a Growing List of Crypto ETFs

Bitwise’s NEAR ETF is one of many waiting for SEC approval in 2025.

Other tokens in line for their own ETFs include Litecoin, Dogecoin, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Hedera, Polkadot, Chainlink, Avalanche, Aptos, and Sui.

Bitwise has also filed for DOGE, SOL, and XRP ETFs.

It already runs Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which are listed on NYSE Arca and have attracted over $2.35 billion from investors.

NEAR is a cryptocurrency that powers the Near blockchain. It’s currently the 44th biggest crypto by market value, worth around $2.73 billion.

The NEAR blockchain is designed to be fast, secure, and decentralized. It uses a technology called Nightshade sharding, allowing it to handle up to 100,000 transactions per second with the help of 265 active validators.

In 2024, Near shifted focus from finance tools to AI, announcing plans to build the world’s largest open-source AI model.

NEAR also provides NEAR Data Availability (NEAR DA) is a modular data availability layer designed to support rollups and Layer 2 scaling solutions by providing a secure, cost-effective, and efficient way to store and access transaction data on-chain.

It separates the data availability function from the main blockchain, allowing other chains or rollups to publish and verify data on NEAR's network.

Key features of NEAR DA include:

• Cost Efficiency: Storing rollup calldata on NEAR is approximately 8,000 times cheaper than on Ethereum, drastically reducing operational costs for Layer 2 projects.
  
  
• High Performance and Scalability: NEAR uses a sharded architecture that allows parallel data processing and can reshard dynamically to meet demand, ensuring ample block space and scalability without resorting to rollups or sidechains.
  
  
• Components:
• Blob Store Contract: Stores arbitrary data blobs securely on-chain.
• Light Client: A trustless off-chain client that verifies data availability and proofs, enabling rollups to validate that data is stored on NEAR.
• RPC Client: Provides an interface for submitting and retrieving data blobs, facilitating easy integration with Layer 2 frameworks.
  
  
• Reliability: NEAR's blockchain has maintained 100% uptime, ensuring consistent data availability.
  
  
• Developer-Friendly: NEAR offers RPC endpoints to easily retrieve on-chain data from anywhere, simplifying interaction for developers and rollups.

NEAR DA competes with other data availability solutions like Celestia and Avail by offering unmatched cost savings and scalability for Ethereum rollups and other Layer 2 projects.