Oct 5, 2026 · 44 min

NEAR’s ETF tests whether utility can drive crypto value

Why the Near $NRR ETF is Different | Hunter Horsley and Sal Ternullo

The discussion examines whether NEAR’s network activity, staking economics, and AI ambitions can translate into a differentiated institutional investment case.

3 key takeaways

1Near Intents could connect network usage and solver revenue to value accrual for the NEAR token.
2Bitwise’s ETF combines staking exposure with a broader thesis about NEAR’s utility and ecosystem development.
3The guests frame NEAR as infrastructure for a fragmented AI future shaped by many models, agents, chains, and privacy demands.

Don't miss

The discussion shifts from ETF mechanics to the possibility that NEAR could provide infrastructure for a fragmented, privacy-conscious AI ecosystem.

The brief

David speaks with Hunter Horsley of Bitwise and Sal Ternullo of Sovereign about the Near ETF and the thesis that NEAR can function as more than a conventional crypto asset.

The core investment argument rests on Near Intents: users specify outcomes, solvers compete to fulfill them, and resulting activity may create economic value for the network and token.

Hunter explains how the ETF handles staking while tying NEAR’s utility, revenue generation, and ecosystem development to the case for institutional exposure.

The conversation then widens to AI, where fragmented models, applications, and agents could make privacy and user control central to the next phase of adoption.

The standout tension is whether NEAR’s technical vision can become investable momentum: an ETF may broaden access, but sustained value still depends on real network use.

What was said on this episode

18 statements · 17 positive · 1 neutral

Sal Ternulloon Near ecosystemPositive1:43
The Near ecosystem is experiencing substantial development energy and effort.
“there is an incredible amount of energy and effort that is focused on building and advancing near”
Listen at 1:43
Hunter Horsleyon NearPositive3:57
Near is among the most exciting crypto projects and teams.
“NIR is one of the most exciting teams and projects, for lack of a better term, in the crypto space.”
Listen at 3:57
Hunter Horsleyon Near IntentsPositive5:47
Near Intents is experiencing exceptionally rapid growth.
“Near Intense, of course, being a breakout rocket ship.”
Listen at 5:47
Hunter Horsleyon NearPositive12:13
Near is a leading candidate for investors seeking crypto exposure beyond Bitcoin.
“I think Near is a first class candidate for what will be part of that story.”
Listen at 12:13
Sal Ternulloon NIR buybacksPositive15:40
NIR buybacks remove tokens from circulating supply and create demand.
“that is a demand sink on the system that is removing NIR from circulating supply”
Listen at 15:40
Sal Ternulloon Near inflation policyPositive15:55
Near governance is considering reducing inflation from 2.5% to 1.6% over two years.
“reducing inflation from 2.5% to 1.6% over a two-year linear curve”
Listen at 15:55
Sal Ternulloon Near IntentsPositive17:28
Near Intents currently has real revenue and product-market fit.
“real revenue and real product market fit right now at Intense”
Listen at 17:28
Hunter Horsleyon NearPositive23:14
Near has strong utility, value capture, and ecosystem development.
“NIR has strong substance across all those dimensions, which Sal illustrated.”
Listen at 23:14
Hunter Horsleyon Near exposurePositive24:41
Early NRR activity indicates investor demand for Near exposure.
“there is demand for exposure to NIR”
Listen at 24:41
Sal Ternulloon NRR ETFPositive28:29
Sal expects NRR assets under management to reach $100 million and eventually $1 billion.
“I look forward to seeing it break 100 million and then ultimately a billion AUM.”
Listen at 28:29
Hunter Horsleyon Near market capitalizationPositive29:09
Near’s roughly $5 billion market cap is about one-tenth typical AI-platform valuations.
“a $5 billion market cap, something like that, that's probably a tenth of the average valuation placed on AI platforms with traction these days”
Listen at 29:09
Hunter Horsleyon Crypto ecosystem fragmentationNeutral33:56
The crypto ecosystem will likely contain multiple L1s and stablecoins.
“we're probably going to wind up in a world with multiple L1s, multiple different stablecoins”
Listen at 33:56
Hunter Horsleyon NearPositive34:06
Near is positioned to simplify interactions across fragmented models and blockchains.
“NIR has executed is to position themselves to be on the right side of fragmentation and to be a simplifying force”
Listen at 34:06
Hunter Horsleyon Near fragmentation strategyPositive34:42
Near’s fragmentation strategy is already succeeding and will continue succeeding substantially.
“that bet is paying off and is actually going to continue to pay off immensely”
Listen at 34:42
Sal Ternulloon Enterprise AI model-routing gatewaysPositive39:25
Sophisticated enterprises will adopt model-routing gateways for policy and control management.
“I think you're going to see this layer that sits on top of this as a router gateway for policy enforcement and kind of control management in any sophisticated enterprise”
Listen at 39:25
Sal Ternulloon Near private inferencePositive40:00
Near is well positioned for private enterprise AI inference.
“I think Near fits perfectly in that on the private inference side”
Listen at 40:00
Sal Ternulloon Privacy-guaranteeing AI architecturePositive40:30
Privacy-guaranteeing architecture will become mandatory for unshared enterprise AI services within two years.
“I think people are just starting to wake up to it now. But when we zoom out two years from now, technical architecture that guarantees privacy if you're running unshared services. You will have to have that.”
Listen at 40:30
Sal Ternulloon Google privacy search trendsPositive41:53
Google search interest in privacy is higher than at any previous peak.
“privacy is at a multiple of any other peak in search trends”
Listen at 41:53

Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.