Bitwise Asset Management last week filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC for the Bitwise NEAR ETF to enter the regulatory pipeline. The move is a big step toward opening up cryptocurrency investment possibilities to institutions.

Their filing follows a move earlier this year by Bitwise, in April 2025 when it registered a trust entity for the Bitwise NEAR ETF in Delaware.

Key-Takeaways:

• In its newest addition to the Bitwise family, Bitwise Asset Management filed for the Bitwise NEAR ETF, which provides institutional investors with an exposure to NEAR Protocol, expanding beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• NEAR’s trading volume has increased due to the filing but its price is still cautious. The shift toward AI infrastructure may help bring in investors eyeing the emerging tech trends.

Market Impact of the Bitwise NEAR ETF Filing

The market activity for the Bitwise NEAR ETF submission caused NEAR Protocol’s native token to spike in trading volume above 50%. This comes on the back of increasing interest about the potential impact that the ETF could have on the market.

Though the volume of trades has risen, NEAR’s price is reacting quite modestly. Rallying briefly from an opening low of $2.23 to $2.38 briefly, it returned back around $2.30.

The fact that this measured price response exists would suggest that investors are being careful. Indeed, they may be waiting for further guidance from regulators before going any further.

With the launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF, the Bitwise NEAR ETF is taking a strategic step from its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. By moving this way, they diversify their offerings and solidify their place in the cryptocurrency investing world.

The fund will also have Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the custodian. It will serve to secure the trust’s NEAR holdings and enable it to make necessary transfers of tokens.

CF NEAR Dollar Settlement Price will be used as a pricing benchmark by the Bitwise NEAR ETF. Standard exposure to NEAR’s performance allows investors to have transparency and consistency in their investment.

The filing confirms that Bitwise will file a 19b-4 form in order to begin the SEC approval process, and though the Bitwise NEAR ETF ticker symbol or listing exchange remain unconfirmed, it is certain that Bitwise plans to proceed with filing the document. That’s a step that has to be taken for the fund to keep its regulatory journey moving forward.

This development has already caused a ripple in market analysts, with one explaining on platform X, “Bitwise is betting big on altcoin legitimacy.” With that in mind, the Bitwise NEAR ETF could potentially bring Layer 1 altcoins into the world of mainstream financial markets.

The Bitwise NEAR ETF is one of Bitwise’s growing range of bitcoin ETF applications. These are products associated with Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), XRP, and Aptos (APT).

With this expansion, Bitwise continues to execute on its strategy of seizing on the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum. It demonstrates their dedication to diversifying what they’re offering.

If the Bitwise NEAR ETF is approved, traditional investors will begin to get exposure to the NEAR Protocol. At 44th in market capitalization at $2.8 billion, it has an opportunity for institutional investors to get exposure to the network.

In addition, the Bitwise NEAR ETF filing occurs as NEAR Protocol faces a critical mass of developers and users. Now, it is shifting from decentralized finance to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Now NEAR Protocol is working on what it calls ‘the world’s largest open source large language model’. With this strategic pivot, NEAR sits at the crossroads of AI and blockchain technology.

If this evolution takes place, it would make it easier for the Bitwise NEAR ETF to appeal to more users. This shift may also be attractive to investors looking to get exposure to emerging tech trends not limited to traditional cryptocurrencies.

After the Bitwise NEAR ETF news, market analysts have been split as to how to evaluate NEAR’s investment potential. Testing a key support-resistance flip, NEAR’s nowhere near local lows and can be found in a clear bullish trend, Sjuul from AltCryptoCast pointed out.

Yet analyst LaCryptoLycus also described NEAR as ‘one of the most underappreciated’ cryptocurrencies. He pointed out that the price was stabilized above the $1.75 support level, and argued such a price appreciation is likely if NEAR can reclaim the $3.70 resistance.

Outlook on the Regulations for the Bitwise NEAR ETF

As the SEC decides on the acceptance of cryptocurrency investment products, the path to the approval of the Bitwise NEAR ETF appears murky. The regulatory environment around Bitcoin and Ethereum under the Biden administration has improved, but approved spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs came to be in 2024.

However, the SEC has seen fit to deny approval applications for ETFs based on altcoins as well, that however is always accompanied by way of a delay, at the very least. Like the XRP and DOGE ETFs, which were recently postponed until mid-June 2025, Bitwise’s NEAR ETF seems to be in for an extended review timeline as well.

This comes at a time of evolving regulatory clarity on the cryptocurrency industry. Attention will be paid to how the SEC deals with this application, as a sign of the agency’s willingness to let more crypto investment products into the market.

The approval of the Bitwise NEAR ETF would set a landmark for other products. These could be attached to medium capitalization layer one blockchain protocols.

While most technical indicators suggest further decline in NEAR’s price in the short term, investors look to news on the Bitwise NEAR ETF. Relative Strength Index is around 45, neutral momentum with bearish bias.

The volatility of a currency pair compresses as a pattern in the form of a squeeze is taking shape, which may result in a large price move up or down. At the same time, the MACD line moved below the signal line signifying that the upward momentum was weakening.

But if the price can stay above the $2.20-$2.25 range for more than a couple of hours, there’s a good chance of a bullish reversal. These levels are also going to be watched closely by investors in order to see where it goes with prices.

Conclusion

With the Bitwise NEAR ETF, institutional investors will get regulated exposure to more digital assets, and it could be the first big step toward Bitcoin finally finding a home in traditional finance. What makes the ETF an interesting vehicle for exposure in the convergence of AI is NEAR Protocol’s shift to being a home for AI infrastructure.