NEAR jumped 12% after Bitwise added staking to its spot ETF filing. The SEC has never approved that structure.
Bitwise made its NEAR ETF harder to approve by adding staking. The feature is the product's whole point, and also the thing the SEC hasn't cleared yet.
CryptoVibe Desk · near · etf · sec
- →Bitwise filed an amended S-1 for a spot NEAR ETF on July 3, updating the product structure to include a staking yield component inside the ETF wrapper.
- →The SEC has never approved a staking-enabled spot crypto ETF; Ethereum spot ETF issuers dropped staking from their filings before approval, and Bitwise is now putting it back in.
- →Watch whether the SEC's first comment letter on this amended S-1 requests removal of the staking component, which would set the terms for every staking ETF filing that follows.
- S-1 → A registration document filed with the SEC when a company wants to launch a new investment product like an ETF in the United States.
- Staking → Locking up a cryptocurrency to help run its network in exchange for a yield, similar to earning interest on a savings account.
NEAR jumped roughly 12% on July 3, per Crypto.news. Bitwise filed an amended S-1 for a spot NEAR ETF, adding a staking yield component to the product structure.
That 12% is the market pricing a regulatory bet. The SEC has not approved a staking-enabled spot crypto ETF. Ethereum spot ETFs launched in 2024 without staking. Issuers dropped staking from those filings before the SEC approved them. Bitwise is putting it back in.
For NEAR holders, the staking wrapper matters more than the ETF wrapper alone. A staking ETF would let institutional capital earn network yield without handling custody. That's a different product from every plain spot ETF in the queue, and that difference is the whole bet.
The open question is whether the SEC accepts yield-generating mechanics inside a registered ETF. If the agency pushes back, Bitwise can remove the staking feature and refile. The underlying spot ETF doesn't depend on it.
If you're holding NEAR, the jump reflects a possibility, not a done deal. The number to watch is not the price. It's whether the SEC's comment letter engages the staking structure or asks for its removal.
Bitwise embedded staking directly into the NEAR S-1 instead of filing it separately. If the SEC rejects the yield mechanics, the clean spot filing gets pulled into the same review. And that's the catch: the more ambitious product made the safer one harder to approve.
Whether the SEC's first comment letter on this amended S-1 requests removal of the staking component. Within 60 days of the filing date.
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