Bitwise opened its NEAR exchange‑traded fund (ticker NRR) to U.S. investors on September 29, attracting $35.5 million in net inflows on the first day. By the following day, cumulative inflows topped $50 million and total net assets reached $52.8 million, roughly 0.76 % of NEAR’s market capitalization.
Exploit triggers token sell‑off
Two days after the ETF debut, NEAR Intents reported a security incident involving its Omni deposit‑and‑withdrawal infrastructure. The breach resulted in an estimated loss of $3.8 million, primarily affecting USDT on the Binance Smart Chain. NEAR’s native token fell about 10 % to $4.86 as the news spread.
Response and remediation
NEAR Intents halted services, patched the vulnerable smart contract, and pledged full compensation to affected users. Operations on near.com and the Omni infrastructure resumed after the fix. The NEAR blockchain itself continued processing blocks without interruption, and Bitwise’s ETF, which holds exposure to the native token rather than the compromised application, was not directly impacted.
Scale of the affected service
NEAR Intents processes more than $4 billion in monthly trading and payment volume, making the incident a significant ecosystem event. The team reported the breach to law enforcement and is working with analytics and security firms to trace the stolen funds. A detailed post‑mortem is expected in the coming days, and the project plans to expand formal verification and other security measures.
Market context
Prior to the ETF launch, NEAR’s futures open interest had already declined, indicating reduced speculative leverage. Spot demand, however, was strengthening, with the token’s price up roughly 86 % from mid‑September. The ETF’s early inflows suggest institutional interest, but the subsequent price dip tests whether investors can separate an application‑level exploit from the broader network investment case.
Outlook
Future ETF inflows will reveal whether confidence in NEAR endures despite the security breach. Continued buying could signal that investors view the exploit as isolated, while a reversal might indicate heightened sensitivity to ecosystem risks for newly packaged crypto assets.
