Grayscale Investments has moved to convert its existing Near-linked closed-end trust into an exchange-traded fund, filing a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
The Grayscale Near Trust, a Delaware statutory trust formed in November 2021, was established to hold NEAR, the native cryptocurrency of the Near Network, and to offer investors exposure to the asset through publicly quoted shares rather than direct ownership. Upon effectiveness of the registration statement, the firm intends to rename the vehicle the Grayscale Near Trust ETF and uplist it from over-the-counter trading to NYSE Arca.
According to Grayscale’s website, the trust currently has approximately $900,000 in assets under management. The page also notes that the product “has not met its investment objective” and that its shares, quoted on OTC Markets, have traded at both premiums and discounts to net asset value, “with variations that have at times been substantial.”
The prospectus also addresses staking, a feature that has drawn scrutiny in recent crypto ETF filings. The trust agreement permits staking only if specific conditions are met. As of the filing date, those conditions have not been satisfied, and the trust is prohibited from staking its NEAR holdings.
If enabled in the future, the trust proposes a “Provider-Facilitated Staking” model where a third-party validator would be used, with the trust retaining ownership of the tokens and receiving staking rewards solely in NEAR, Grayscale said in the filing.
A growing list of crypto ETF hopefuls
The filing represents the second active application for a spot NEAR ETF in the U.S. It follows a similar S-1 registration statement submitted by asset manager Bitwise in May 2025 for a product designed to give investors exposure to NEAR through a traditional brokerage account.
This push for a NEAR-specific product is part of a broader wave of crypto ETF applications that has accelerated amid a perceived pro-crypto regulatory environment under President Trump. Issuer interest has rapidly expanded beyond the established Bitcoin and Ethereum funds to include a wider array of single-asset and multi-asset products.
In December 2025 alone, Bitwise filed applications for 11 new “strategy” ETFs, according to regulatory filings. Those proposed funds seek to track Aave, Canton, Ethena, Hyperliquid, NEAR, Starknet, Sui, Bittensor, Tron, Uniswap, and Zcash.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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