NEAR Protocol gets institutional boost with new Laser Digital fund

Laser Digital, the digital assets subsidiary of Japanese financial services giant Nomura, has launched a new investment fund targeting institutional adoption of NEAR.

The Laser Digital NEAR Adoption Fund will offer long-term exposure to NEAR (NEAR), the native token of the artificial intelligence-focused blockchain, NEAR Protocol.

Laser launched a Bitcoin (BTC) adoption fund in Sept. 2023.

According to Laser Digital, the new fund will be powered by TruStake, an institutional-grade staking solution developed by the crypto platform TruFin. The fund will allow ecosystem participants to engage in blockchain consensus and earn rewards from staking.

Laser Digitalb CEO Jez Mohideen commented: 

“The Fund gives Investors a seamless way to gain exposure to digital assets through a long orientated exposure to the NEAR protocol that combines two major investment themes of digital assets and AI, alongside a carry overlay via the staking.”

This initiative provides institutional investors with an opportunity to leverage NEAR Protocol for economic returns while supporting its growth and adoption.

With NEAR a top AI token focused on the future of decentralized AI, the fund may be the gateway that brings this future into reality.

Growth for AI and web3 includes the explosion of AI agents and NEAR stands at this intersection with crypto and blockchain. The outlook is down to NEAR Protocol’s key features, including user-owned AI, Chain Abstraction, sharded blockchain and intents, the new transaction model also championed by the Ethereum Foundation.

According to Laser Digital, the NEAR Adoption Fund will be available to eligible institutional and professional investors in selected jurisdictions, but it will not be available to investors in the U.S.

Laser Digital and TruFin plan to offer the fund in both traditional formats and via wealth management platforms.

The Fund will be available in traditional format, after registration, in selected jurisdictions (with the exclusion of the US) to eligible institutional and professional investors. The Fund will also be available through various wealth management platforms.