NEAR Protocol (NEAR) traded near $4.97 on Sept. 29 as Bitwise launched the first U.S. spot NEAR exchange-traded product with planned staking and conventional brokerage access.
Key Points:
- Bitwise launched NRR on NYSE Arca, giving U.S. investors spot NEAR exposure through a brokerage account during regular exchange hours and adding planned in-house staking.
- NEAR remained up more than 15% for the week but fell 4.62% over 24 hours, leaving $5 as the immediate technical test after the launch.
- A break below $4.70 would put $4.50 support back in focus.
Bitwise ETF Launch
On Sept. 29, Bitwise said NRR began trading on NYSE Arca with a 0.75% annual management fee, while CoinGape reported NEAR holding above $4.90 despite the daily decline. NRR holds the token directly.
The fund intends to stake its NEAR through Bitwise’s institutional team, targeting participation in a network staking rate of about 5%, though actual rewards can change and accrue to fund value rather than fixed cash payments.
Bitwise also pointed to NEAR Intents, which it said has processed more than $32B in cumulative volume, compared with less than $1B about a year earlier as the company emphasized AI-agent transactions. NEAR Protocol called NRR “the first spot NEAR ETP in the US.”
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NEAR Price Outlook
CoinGape’s four-hour reading put NEAR near $4.93, with the relative strength index at 51.57, while the MACD line remained below its signal line and the histogram stayed negative. A sustained four-hour close above $5 could reopen $5.30, and clearing that recent high could then bring $6 into view. Failure to reclaim $5 keeps downside risk active.
Bitwise has tied the fund’s case to NEAR’s role in AI-agent transactions, while noting that Intents volume has expanded sharply over the past year. The broader crypto market rose 0.69% to $2.9 trillion.
NEAR’s latest test follows a sharp September advance from roughly $2 to above $5, a move that more than doubled the token before the recent pullback. That surge explains why traders are now watching $4.70 and $4.50 as nearby support if the token cannot reestablish itself above $5.
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