TL;DR
- Grayscale filed a Form S-1 with the SEC to convert its NEAR Trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker GNSR.
- The NEAR Trust holds $900,000 in assets under management, allows staking under specific conditions, and its shares have shown significant variations.
- The NEAR token trades at $1.52, with a 24-hour volume of $195 million and a total value locked (TVL) of $135 million.
Grayscale Investments submitted a Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert its NEAR Trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposed ETF will be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker GNSR. The filing formalizes the intention to provide investors with a regulated, publicly traded vehicle linked to NEAR. The S-1 outlines the ETF’s structure, investment objectives, and associated risks.The Grayscale NEAR Trust was established in Delaware in November 2021 to hold NEAR tokens and offer publicly traded shares as an alternative to direct ownership. The trust currently manages approximately $900,000 in assets. Its shares have traded on OTC Markets with notable deviations from net asset value (NAV). The trust agreement allows NEAR staking only if certain conditions are met, which have not been activated. If enabled, a “Provider-Facilitated Staking” model would be used with a third-party validator, while staking rewards would be received exclusively in NEAR.
Tough Year for NEAR
The NEAR token trades around $1.52, down 1.65% at the time of publication. Its 24-hour average volume rose 17% to $195 million. The market cap stands at $1.96 billion, following an approximate 70% decline over the past 12 months. NEAR Protocol holds a total value locked (TVL) of $135 million and competes with Ethereum, EOS, and Polkadot.
Grayscale Leverages SEC Flexibility
In its 2026 roadmap, the NEAR Foundation plans to expand its on-chain artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Foundation launched NEAR AI Cloud and Private Chat, integrated into Brave Nightly, OpenMind AGI, and Phala Network. These developments include hardware-based encryption to ensure users retain ownership of their data. The Foundation is also exploring a governance model called “House of Stake,” which would allow more complex decision-making through AI agents representing user intent.
In October 2025, the SEC removed the need for case-by-case approval to list crypto ETFs, accelerating the launch of institutional products. Grayscale’s filing is the second active spot NEAR ETF application in the U.S., following Bitwise’s submission in May 2025
