{"id":79492,"date":"2026-10-14T04:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T04:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/bitwise-svrn-bet-on-near-as-ai-infrastructure-thesis-takes-shape\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T04:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T04:33:16","slug":"bitwise-svrn-bet-on-near-as-ai-infrastructure-thesis-takes-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/bitwise-svrn-bet-on-near-as-ai-infrastructure-thesis-takes-shape\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitwise, SVRN Bet on NEAR as AI Infrastructure Thesis Takes Shape"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Bitwise\u2019s NEAR ETF and SVRN\u2019s 10% supply goal offer two routes into the same AI-blockchain thesis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">NRR adds staking exposure, while SVRN pairs NEAR holdings with validators and infrastructure businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Returns now hinge on NEAR turning $34B+ of Intents volume into revenue and token demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Bitwise\u2019s NEAR ETF Targets Crypto-AI Demand<\/h2>\n<p>Wall Street has spent years learning how to buy bitcoin and ethereum. Bitwise\u2019s Matt Hougan and SVRN\u2019s Sal Ternullo are making a more demanding pitch: invest in the infrastructure that could allow AI agents to transact.<\/p>\n<p>Bitwise is pursuing that opportunity through its NEAR ETF, NRR. SVRN is combining an ambitious token accumulation strategy with businesses that help operate and commercialize the network.<\/p>\n<p>Both approaches rest on a proposition with consequences beyond crypto: as software takes on more economic activity, the systems handling its transactions could become valuable financial infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Bitwise Chose NEAR<\/h2>\n<p>For Hougan, Bitwise\u2019s chief investment officer, NEAR offers exposure to a project whose existing transaction capabilities support a much larger ambition in AI. He believes investors will increasingly distinguish between cryptocurrencies based on what their networks deliver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncreasingly in the future, I think we\u2019re going to see idiosyncratic returns specific to individual projects, how they execute and what market they\u2019re going after,\u201d Hougan said.<\/p>\n<p>That is a portfolio thesis, rather than an established outcome. Its appeal depends on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/finance\/bitwise-launches-near-etf-5-yield-ai-bet\/\">NEAR developing sources of demand<\/a> that distinguish it from the broader market. Hougan\u2019s selection criteria also include staying power and a community with conviction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing that kills an ETF is if no one cares,\u201d he said, adding that NEAR\u2019s appeal spans its existing cross-chain transaction capabilities and its ambition to support AI-driven commerce.<\/p>\n<h2>Financial Advisers Are Showing Up Early<\/h2>\n<p>NRR\u2019s launch has attracted interest beyond the familiar buyers Hougan typically expects first: people who already follow or hold the underlying asset.<\/p>\n<p>He said early internal reports indicate earlier-than-expected allocations from financial advisers. Those observations are anecdotal, as <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/market-updates\/blackrock-drives-150m-bitcoin-ether-etf-selling\/\">ETF trading<\/a> does not give an issuer a complete picture of its buyers.<\/p>\n<p>Hougan sees an explanation in the demand for investments connecting two powerful technology themes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the reason for that is the intersection of crypto and AI is just too attractive for anyone to ignore,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been hearing about that for the last two years, and now they have a way to express it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fund also incorporates staking rewards. \u201cThe staking yield gets added back into the net asset value. It\u2019s not distributed,\u201d Hougan said.<\/p>\n<p>Investors receive that benefit within the fund\u2019s value, rather than through cash payouts. Redemptions introduce a separate challenge when tokens are staked, with Hougan pointing to NEAR\u2019s relatively short unstaking period, extended settlement arrangements for market makers and additional liquidity capabilities for extreme conditions.<\/p>\n<h2>SVRN\u2019s Ambition Extends Beyond Its Treasury<\/h2>\n<p>SVRN\u2019s stated long-term goal is to accumulate 10% of NEAR\u2019s token supply, a position equivalent to one in every 10 tokens. But Ternullo, its CEO, described a business intended to earn its place within the network as well as hold its asset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat this meant in the first chapter was building out the infrastructure that powers the network,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so on our side, we now run six white-labeled validators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ternullo also highlighted infrastructure supporting <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/security\/near-intents-bug-sends-3-8m-racing-across-crypto-networks\/\">NEAR Intents<\/a> and confidential transactions, alongside the acquisition of Fastnear, which he described as a cash-generating infrastructure business.<\/p>\n<p>Private AI inference, which protects prompts and outputs while models run, is another commercial priority. The ownership ambition could eventually require consideration of concentration and alternative uses of capital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a number of productive ways to put additional capital to work in the ecosystem, whether that\u2019s further financing the infrastructure layer, supporting proprietary development of applications, and then commercializing those,\u201d Ternullo said. \u201cThis would drive an evolution in how we allocate capital in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Where the AI Thesis Meets Investor Returns<\/h2>\n<p>Ternullo said NEAR Intents had processed more than $34 billion in volume, with roughly 98% of interactions still human-driven. AI-agent commerce remains largely an opportunity ahead.<\/p>\n<p>The investment question is whether that activity produces economic value for token holders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is one asset; it is NEAR. All value that\u2019s generated in this ecosystem accrues to it, and that will always be the case,\u201d Ternullo said. \u201cAnd so as we prove the NEAR AI revenue model and token buyback system, value accrual to NEAR will only increase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is the thesis investors must test. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/price\/near-protocol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NEAR\u2019s transaction<\/a> volume needs to translate into sustainable revenue and token demand.<\/p>\n<p>For investors, the distinction is clear: NRR packages exposure and staking within a fund, while SVRN adds operating businesses and corporate execution risk. In the end, both ultimately depend on NEAR turning adoption into economic value.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose my-3 lg:my-4\">\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden md:flex md:flex-row md:gap-3 lg:hidden\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/bitwise-launches-near-etf-5-yield-ai-bet\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:gap-4\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/bitwise-launches-near-etf-5-yield-ai-bet\/\"><img alt=\"Bitwise Launches NEAR ETF With 5% Yield and an AI Bet\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" sizes=\"150px\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 32w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=48&amp;q=75 48w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 64w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 128w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=256&amp;q=75 256w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=384&amp;q=75 384w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=640&amp;q=75 640w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=828&amp;q=75 828w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=1080&amp;q=75 1080w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=1200&amp;q=75 1200w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75 1920w\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Fbitwise-launches-near-etf-with-5-yield-and-an-ai-bet-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col justify-center gap-2\">\n<p class=\"m-0 line-clamp-2 text-base leading-[1.3] !text-[#67656E]\">Bitwise has launched a U.S.-listed NEAR ETF offering spot exposure to the token alongside staking rewards of roughly 5%. The\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/interview\/bitwise-svrn-bet-on-near-as-ai-infrastructure-thesis-takes-shape\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Bitwise\u2019s NEAR ETF and SVRN\u2019s 10% supply goal offer two routes into the same AI-blockchain thesis. NRR adds staking exposure, while SVRN pairs NEAR holdings with validators and infrastructure businesses. Returns now hinge on NEAR turning $34B+ of Intents volume into revenue and token demand. Bitwise\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362377,"featured_media":79493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362377"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}