Grayscale Aims to Launch NEAR ETF with US Regulators
Grayscale Investments has initiated the process with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to convert its NEAR Protocol Trust into a publicly traded ETF. The filing was made via a preliminary prospectus on Tuesday for the Grayscale NEAR Trust, which offers investors exposure to NEAR Protocol tokens.
The company’s objective is to convert the existing Trust structure into an exchange-traded fund on the NYSE Arca. This move aligns with Grayscale’s repeated pattern of launching vehicles as private trusts, facilitating OTC trading, and then pursuing an ETF conversion.
In 2025, the firm executed this strategy for its Digital Large Cap Fund, its Chainlink Trust, and its XRP Trust. It has also recently laid groundwork for future products by forming Delaware trusts tied to Binance Coin and Hyperliquid.
“Crypto ETP filings continue to come across the SEC’s desk,” commented Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart regarding the activity. The subject of this filing, the NEAR Trust, started trading on the OTCQB market in September under the ticker GSNR.
As it stands, the trust manages $900,000 in assets. Its net asset value per share has fallen to $2.19, down 45% from its inception, reflecting the challenging conditions in altcoin markets during the past four months.
