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

About this episode

NEAR just got a new institutional gateway, but the ETF may only be the beginning of the story. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley and Sovereign’s Sal Ternullo join David to unpack why investors are starting to view NEAR through the lens of AI, how NEAR Intents has already processed more than $32 billion in volume, what staking and token buybacks mean for the asset, and why a future filled with many AI models, chains, agents, and stablecoins could play directly into NEAR’s strengths. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔓NEAR | TRADE CONFIDENTIALLY, GET 20% BACK https://bankless.cc/near2026 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 👑BANKLESS CONTENT MCP https://www.bankless.com/premium --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 NEAR’s New ETF 2:15 Bitwise and NEAR 8:49 Selling NEAR to Investors 12:18 Intents and Buybacks 20:23 Staking and ETF Demand 26:34 The AI Opportunity 33:11 Many Models, Many Chains 38:37 AI Privacy 42:48 Closing Thoughts --- RESOURCES Sal Ternullo https://x.com/sal_ternullo Hunter Horsley https://x.com/HHorsley --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures