Bitwise's NEAR ETF drew $35.5 million on day one, a big debut for NEAR's size, as spot buyers arrived on lighter leverage and one analyst eyes $12 for NEAR.
Key Facts
Bitwise's NEAR ETF took in $35.5 million on its first day, buying about 7.2 million NEAR, or roughly 0.55% of circulating supply.
Relative to market value, the debut was about three times the first XRP fund's, and Santiment says buyers arrived on lighter leverage as one analyst eyes $12.
The fund's shares closed day one at a 1.17% discount, and FXEmpire's Yashu Gola flags NEAR as overheated after it nearly tripled in a month.
The first US spot NEAR (NEAR) fund took in $35.5 million on its debut, enough to buy about 0.55% of all NEAR in circulation, according to Bitwise. Its daily flows from here will show how long that demand lasts.
For a token of NEAR's size, that was a bigger first day than either Bitwise's Solana fund or the first US XRP fund managed, based on CoinMarketCap data. The buyers also arrived after leveraged traders had already pulled back, according to Santiment. One analyst now sees room for NEAR to more than double.
NEAR traded at $5.38 as of 1:23 p.m. ET Wednesday, up 10.2% over 24 hours, CoinMarketCap data shows.
"NEAR has broken above a long-term inverse head-and-shoulders neckline near $3.15, opening the door to a potential 135% rally toward $12.04," FXEmpire senior analyst Yashu Gola wrote on Wednesday.
How Big Was the NEAR ETF's Debut? Large for NEAR's Size
Bitwise called the fund's first session "a hot start." The fund, which trades as NRR on NYSE Arca, buys NEAR as investors buy new shares, like the spot Bitcoin ETFs. Bitwise then stakes those tokens, helping secure the network in return for rewards that accrue to the fund.
In dollars, earlier launches drew more. Bitwise's Solana fund took in about twice as much on its first day in October 2025, The Block reported. Canary's XRP fund drew about seven times as much, DL News reported. But Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) were worth about 17 and 22 times as much, respectively, at their launches as NEAR was on Tuesday.
The shares still ended their first day slightly below the value of the tokens behind them, the fund's data shows.
Who Is Buying NEAR Now? Spot Buyers, Less Leverage
Futures let traders bet on NEAR's price with borrowed money, and open interest tracks the bets still open.
Santiment found that open interest counted in tokens peaked on Sept. 21 and fell by about a fifth by launch day, even as the price kept rising.
"Spot buyers showed up on launch day, with leverage already lighter than before the run began," Santiment wrote on X on Wednesday.
What Is the Fund Betting On? Bitwise Calls NEAR Binary
Bitwise laid out its case in a 2025 research report, when the token traded near $2.40. Its central scenario put NEAR above $150 by 2030.
That case rests on AI agents paying to route transactions through NEAR's intents system. Users state the outcome they want, and competing solvers find the route.
The model assumes NEAR takes a cut of that activity. The report also noted that "NEAR currently does not charge a fee on intent volumes."
What Would Confirm It? Steady Inflows Above $5.55
NEAR hit $5.55 on Sept. 27, CoinMarketCap data shows. Bitwise is due to report the fund's second-day flows after Wednesday's close.
Gola named $3.15 to $3.30 as support if NEAR pulls back. He also flagged the rally as overheated.
NEAR is trading just below its September high, and well above Gola's support.
"NEAR is either the early infrastructure for a trillion-agent AI economy… or it fails to achieve network effects in its intended use case, in which case it likely trends toward zero," Bitwise wrote in its report.
Further Reading: Bitcoin Price Stalls Below $85K as CryptoQuant Flags Correction Risk
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