Grayscale Files for Near Protocol ETF, Expanding Push Beyond Bitcoin and Ether

Grayscale Investments has officially submitted an S-1 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a groundbreaking Near Protocol (NEAR) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to the submitted S-1, Grayscale intends to convert the Near Trust into an ETF and rename the Trust as Grayscale Near Trust ETF.

This filing now represents a strategic expansion beyond BTC and ETH products, challenging the established regulatory perimeter for altcoin-based investment vehicles. As a result, the application could pave the way for a new era of institutional access to layer-1 blockchain assets, provided it navigates the SEC’s rigorous review process successfully.

When approved, it plans to list shares under the ticker GSNR, currently traded on the OTCQB market, on the NYSE Arca. However, the firm is set to announce fees and other details in a later filing with the SEC.

CSC Delaware Trust Company is the trustee, The Bank of New York Mellon is the transfer agent and the administrator, and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company is the co-transfer agent of the trust.

The prime broker and the custodian will be Coinbase and the custody arm of the American exchange.

In the filing, Grayscale also hinted at a likelihood of staking. If the staking condition is satisfied, “The sponsor anticipates that the Trust would enter into written arrangements with the Custodian to stake the Trust’s NEAR to one or more vetted third-party staking providers.”

After the filing, James Seyffart, a popular Bloomberg ETF analyst, believes that Crypto ETP filings with the SEC are set to continue.

NEAR Price Recovers To Jump Over 3%

After the announcement, the Near Protocol token price jumped 3% in the last few hours, despite a 1.5% drop in the previous day to trade at $1.54 as of 1:58 a.m. EST, with an intraday high of around $1.56 and a low of $1.50, according to Congecko data.  

The slight surge comes even as jitters run through the crypto market, with the space shedding nearly 2% over the last 24 hours to a market cap of $3.10 trillion.

The NEAR trading volume has also gained over 14% to $211 million, a signal of increased trading activity.  

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