NEAR Surges Past Bitcoin Amid Bitwise Spot ETF Hopes

Near Protocol (NEAR) has reached its highest level in one year, outperforming Bitcoin and the broader altcoin market. The token surged over 7% on Sunday after Bitwise filed the final prospectus for a spot NEAR exchange-traded fund (ETF). In comparison, Bitcoin gained only 0.6% over the same period.

The proposed ETF plans to stake all of its NEAR holdings and pass most of the proceeds to shareholders, with staking expenses taking 33% of the additional NEAR generated. The trust will keep roughly 67% of the rewards. Bitwise will receive a 0.75% annual sponsor fee.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe trimmed his exposure to NEAR, saying he doesn't think there will be much more upside yet and is looking to derisk in these ranges. However, he also put his base case for NEAR above $150 and his bull case above $550, suggesting significant long-term potential.

NEAR's price has been trading around $5 over the past 24 hours, with the token gaining more than 7% on Sunday. The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has not yet recovered the $85,000 range it gave up earlier in the week.