Bitwise Files S-1 for NEAR ETF: The Next Altcoin to Hit Wall Street
Bitwise Asset Management has taken another step in its efforts to bring altcoins to traditional investors, officially filing an S-1 registration form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the Bitwise NEAR ETF. The move expands Bitwise’s portfolio of digital asset ETFs, which already includes Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The filing comes after Bitwise formed a Delaware trust on April 24, 2025, suggesting that the plan is well-laid out and on track to regulatory approval. If approved, the new ETF would provide U.S. investors with exposure to the NEAR Protocol — a layer-1 blockchain that’s known for its scalability and its ability to support decentralized applications.
NEAR Joins Altcoin ETF Candidate List
According to the filing, the fund aims to reflect the value of the NEAR it holds, after deducting operating expenses. The fund’s net asset value (NAV) will be calculated based on the NEAR-Dollar valuation index from CF Benchmarks — a trusted provider of price data in the digital finance industry.
Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC will be the asset custodian and custodian, responsible for securing, managing, and processing NEAR transactions for the fund. However, Bitwise has not yet disclosed the specific exchange on which the ETF will be listed, nor the ticker symbol it will use.
Despite the filing, the price of NEAR has not shown any significant reaction. As of writing, the token is trading around $2.30, down slightly by 0.8% over the past 24 hours, with a market cap of around $2.8 billion — the 44th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Competition in the altcoin ETF race heats up
NEAR isn’t the only altcoin in Bitwise’s sights. The company is also awaiting approval for a slew of other ETFs, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), XRP, and Aptos (APT). The move is part of Bitwise’s long-term strategy to fully cover the layer-1 market and potential altcoins.
An analyst commented on X (Twitter): “Bitwise is betting big on the legitimacy of altcoins. Wall Street’s access to L1 blockchains is slowly becoming a reality.”
However, the biggest obstacle is still the SEC. The agency recently delayed its decision on a series of altcoin ETF applications, extending the deadline to mid-June 2025. While the regulatory landscape under the Biden administration has become more positive, with a Bitcoin ETF approved in January 2024 and an Ethereum ETF in July 2024, the SEC remains cautious about assets outside the top two cryptocurrencies.
If the NEAR ETF application is approved, it would not only bring greater liquidity to NEAR but also pave the way for a host of other altcoins to access the traditional investment market. This could be a major turning point for the digital asset industry in 2025.