Investor demand for the first US spot NEAR exchange-traded fund has cooled after a strong start, with the Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) recording net outflows in recent sessions as crypto markets weaken.

Strong Launch Drew Tens of Millions in Inflows

@Bitwise launched the fund, which trades under the ticker NRR on NYSE Arca, on September 29, 2026. The fund pulled in $35.5 million of net inflows on its first trading day, according to figures reported by Bitwise and relayed by Crypto Briefing. The same report said cumulative inflows had reached $52.8 million by the end of the first week.

The debut followed a sharp rally in the underlying token. Crypto Briefing reported that NEAR rallied approximately 160% in the month before the ETF launched, with much of the momentum tied to activity on NEAR's cross-chain Intents system. The fund holds NEAR directly rather than through futures. Bitwise has said it plans to stake the tokens, targeting average staking rewards of around 5%, and the fund carries an annual management fee of 0.75%, according to Bitcoin.com.

As of October 12, 2026, the fund held 15,775,804.74 NEAR, worth approximately $79.2 million, Crypto Briefing reported.

Outflows Emerge as Crypto Market Weakens

Momentum has since faded. SoSoValue data relayed by ChainCatcher shows NRR recorded a net outflow of about $773,800 on November 5. Cumulative net inflows to date stood at $80.45 million, with total net assets of $58.04 million. The gap between those two figures reflects both redemptions and the fall in NEAR's price since the fund's launch-period highs.

The pullback in NEAR products comes amid broader weakness across digital asset funds. FXStreet reported that US-listed Ether spot ETFs recorded $100 million in outflows on Thursday, and that Bitcoin was on course for a fifth straight weekly loss. Separately, Bitwise's head of research, André Dragosch, said recent Bitcoin ETF withdrawals reflected a short-term risk-off environment rather than a structural change in institutional sentiment, according to Crypto Economy.

For $NEAR, the key question is whether the fund's staking feature and the network's AI-agent narrative can attract fresh buyers once broader sentiment stabilises. Until then, daily flow data from providers such as SoSoValue will show whether the outflows are a pause or the start of a longer trend. Spot ETF flows can be volatile from day to day, and a few sessions of redemptions do not necessarily point to a lasting shift.

Sources

Crypto Briefing: Bitwise's NEAR ETF holds 15.7 million NEAR two weeks after launch

ChainCatcher: US ZEC and NEAR spot ETFs net outflow (SoSoValue data)

Bitcoin.com News: Bitwise Launches NEAR ETF With 5% Yield and an AI Bet