Grayscale seeks ETF approval for NEAR Protocol Trust

Grayscale Investment firm has formally filed for Form S-1 seeking approval of the NEAR Protocol Trust ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The crypto asset manager filed to list the NEAR TRUST ETF under the ticker GNSR in the NYSE Arca. 

The S-1 filing marks the first step in creating the Grayscale NEAR Protocol Trust before it is offered to the public. The Form provides the SEC with details about the proposed ETF structure, objectives, and associated risks. If approved, the NEAR ETF could open the door to more altcoin-based ETFs and unlock billions of dollars in institutional capital into the cryptocurrency landscape. 

NEAR sees a 21% surge in average 24-hour volume

The NEAR Protocol token, NEAR, was down 1.65% at the time of publication, trading at $1.54. The token had realized a 21% increase in 24-hour average trading volume to $202 million. Currently, the token has a $1.96 billion market cap after losing roughly 69% of its value over the past 12 months, with a negligible change over the past 30 days.

The current wave of ETF applications follows the SEC’s October 2025 introduction of generic listing standards that eliminated the need for case-by-case approval. The ruling paved the way for accelerated institutional product launches, especially across formerly restricted altcoin markets. 

Grayscale is positioning itself to capture institutional demand expected in this year’s crypto markets. The asset manager’s net asset value had declined by 51.6% year over year to roughly $4.24 per share by the end of December. Its share price was trading at a 124% premium to the NAV at $9.5 market price. 

As of now, Grayscale’s cumulative flows have lost roughly $25.57 billion to withdrawals, with the current Net asset value of the Bitcoin Trust ETF standing at $14.44 billion. According to data from SoSoValue, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF has also experienced a cumulative outflow of $5.1 billion, with a total net asset value of $2.67 billion. The Grayscale XRP Trust ETF is the third-largest in Net asset allocation, with approximately $213 million in Net assets and cumulative inflows of $231 million so far. 

Meanwhile, the asset manager believes clearer crypto regulations will accelerate institutional adoption in 2026. The asset manager projects a bipartisan crypto asset bill will be passed this year, paving the way for TradFi rules to be applied in digital asset classes. 

NEAR Foundation plans to enhance AI interaction while protecting user data

Grayscale’s S-1 filing for the NEAR Protocol Trust ETF follows a similar recent filing for the Bittensor spot ETF under the ticker GTAO. The asset manager seeks to offer regulated exposure to the NEAR token through a passive investment medium. The NEAR Protocol currently has approximately $135 million in total value locked, according to DeFiLlama data.  

NEAR Protocol hosts decentralized applications (dApps) and competes with established blockchains such as Ethereum, EOS, and Polkadot. The L1 blockchain has incorporated features such as human-readable account names instead of only cryptographic wallet addresses. It allows new users to interact with dApps and smart contracts without a wallet. 

In its 2026 roadmap, the NEAR Protocol plans to expand its AI efforts and evolve into a leading on-chain transaction platform. The NEAR Foundation launched NEAR AI Cloud and Private Chat in 2025, which enhances AI interaction while protecting user data. The Foundation integrated both tools into Brave Nightly, OpenMind AGI, and Phala Network applications. 

The NEAR Foundation emphasized that users own their interactions with AI, introducing hardware-backed encryption as an alternative to centralized AI systems. The integrations aim to support both privacy and usability demands of decentralized AI products. 

The Foundation is also exploring another governance model named the ‘House of Stake’ to blend community participation with support from AI agents capable of representing user intent. According to the NEAR Foundation, the ‘House of Stake’ consensus mechanism will move beyond binary voting by enabling more context-aware decision-making.

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