Grayscale has submitted a preliminary prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its NEAR Protocol Trust, aiming to transition it into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposed ETF, intended for listing on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, represents fractional ownership in NEAR Protocol tokens.
This filing is part of Grayscale’s strategy of initially launching products as private trusts before moving them to over-the-counter markets and ultimately converting them to exchange-traded products. Previous successful conversions included the Digital Large Cap Fund and trusts for Chainlink and XRP.
As of now, the NEAR Trust has approximately $900,000 in assets under management, with a net asset value per share of $2.19, reflecting a significant decline of 45% since its launch in September. The NEAR token itself has plummeted 92% from its peak value of over $20 in January 2022, currently trading at $1.54.