Grayscale files for the Near Protocol ETF

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

According to the submitted S-1Grayscale intends to convert the Near Trust into an ETF and rename the Trust to the 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 usher in a new era of institutional access to layer 1 blockchain assets, provided it successfully passes the SEC’s rigorous review process.

BREAKING: Grayscale has filed a request to convert its Grayscale Near Trust into a spot NEAR ETF ( $GSNR)

Grayscale Trust holds approximately $900,000 in $NEAR and trades at a premium to net asset value.

If approved, it would follow the movements of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, highlighting the growing institutional interest in… pic.twitter.com/NsB4YbMW88

-Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) January 21, 2026

Once approved, it plans to list the shares under the symbol GSNR, currently traded on the OTCQB market, on the NYSE Arca. However, the company is expected to announce the fees and other details in a subsequent SEC filing.

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

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

In the filing, Grayscale also hinted at a likelihood of staking. If the staking condition is met, “Sponsor anticipates that the Trust will enter into written agreements with the Custodian to stake the Trust’s NEARs to one or more approved third-party staking providers.” »

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

Crypto ETP filings continue to arrive at the SEC office.

–James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 20, 2026

NEAR Price recovers to jump more than 3%

Following the announcement, the Near Protocol token’s price jumped 3% over the past few hours, despite dropping 1.5% the day before 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 Congeko data.

The slight increase comes even as nervousness sweeps through the crypto market, with the space losing almost 2% in the past 24 hours to hit a market cap of $3.10 trillion.

NEAR trading volume also increased by more than 14% to $211 million, a sign of increased trading activity.

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