time the Trust may deliver a new Exhibit A to add or delete any person and BNY Mellon shall be entitled to rely on the last Exhibit A actually received by BNY Mellon.
“BNY Mellon Affiliate” shall mean any office, branch, or subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
“Confidential Information” shall have the meaning given in Section 18 of this Agreement.
“Documents” shall mean such other documents, including but not limited to, resolutions of the Sponsor authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Trust, and opinions of outside counsel, as BNY Mellon may reasonably request from time to time, in connection with its provision of services under this Agreement.
“Instructions” shall mean Oral Instructions or written communications actually received by BNY Mellon by S.W.I.F.T., tested telex, letter, facsimile transmission, or other method or system specified by BNY Mellon as available for use in connection with the services hereunder, from an Authorized Person or person believed in good faith to be an Authorized Person.
“Net Asset Value” shall mean the per share value of the Trust, calculated in the manner described in the Trust’s Offering Materials.
“Offering Materials” shall mean the Trust’s currently effective prospectus and most recently filed registration statement with the SEC, as applicable, relating to shares of the Trust.
“Organizational Documents” shall mean certified copies of the Trust’s articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, certificate of formation or organization, certificate of limited partnership, bylaws, limited partnership agreement, memorandum of association, limited liability company agreement, operating agreement, confidential offering memorandum, material contracts, Offering Materials, all SEC exemptive orders issued to the Trust, required filings or similar documents of formation or organization, as applicable, delivered to and received by BNY Mellon.
“Oral Instructions” shall mean oral instructions received by BNY Mellon under permissible circumstances specified by BNY Mellon, in its sole discretion, as being from an Authorized Person or person believed in good faith by BNY Mellon to be an Authorized Person.
“Sanctions” means all economic sanctions laws, rules, regulations, executive orders and requirements administered by any governmental authority of the United States (including the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury) or any other applicable domestic or foreign authority with jurisdiction over the Trust.
“SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Securities Laws” means the 1933 Act and the 1934 Act.
“Shares” means the shares of beneficial interest of any series or class of the Trust.
“Sponsor” shall mean the entity identified by the Trust to BNY Mellon as the entity having investment responsibility with respect to the Trust.
The Trust hereby appoints BNY Mellon as its agent for the term of this Agreement to perform the services described herein. BNY Mellon hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the duties hereinafter set forth.
3.Representations and Warranties.
(i) The Trust hereby represents and warrants to BNY Mellon, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing, that:
(a)It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
(b)This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms;
6.Allocation of Expenses.
Except as otherwise provided herein, all costs and expenses arising or incurred in connection with the performance of this Agreement shall be paid by the Trust, including but not limited to, organizational costs and costs of maintaining corporate existence, taxes, interest, brokerage fees and commissions, insurance premiums, compensation and expenses of the Sponsor, officers or employees, legal, accounting and audit expenses, management, advisory, sub-advisory, administration and shareholder servicing fees, charges of custodians, transfer and dividend disbursing agents, expenses (including clerical expenses) incident to the issuance, redemption or repurchase of Trust shares or membership interests, as applicable, fees and expenses incident to the registration or qualification under the Securities Laws, state or other applicable securities laws of the Trust or its shares or membership interests, as applicable, costs (including printing and mailing costs) of preparing and distributing Offering Materials, reports, notices and proxy material to the Trust’s shareholders or members, as applicable, all expenses incidental to holding meetings of the Trust’s shareholders, and extraordinary expenses as may arise, including litigation affecting the Trust and legal obligations relating thereto for which the Trust may have to indemnify its officers, managers, and/or members, as may be applicable.
7.Standard of Care; Indemnification.
(a)Except as otherwise provided herein, BNY Mellon and any BNY Mellon Affiliate shall not be liable for any costs, expenses, damages, liabilities or claims (including attorneys’ and accountants’ fees) incurred by the Trust, except those costs, expenses, damages, liabilities or claims arising out of BNY Mellon’s own bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct. In no event shall BNY Mellon or any BNY Mellon Affiliate be liable to any Fund or any third party for any special, indirect or consequential damages, or lost profits or loss of business, arising under or in connection with this Agreement, even if previously informed of the possibility of such damages and regardless of the form of action. BNY Mellon and any BNY Mellon Affiliate shall not be liable for any loss, damage or expense, including counsel fees and other costs and expenses of a defense against any claim or liability, resulting from, arising out of, or in connection with its performance hereunder, including its actions or omissions, the incompleteness or inaccuracy of any specifications or other information furnished by the Trust, or for delays caused by circumstances beyond BNY Mellon’s reasonable control, unless such loss, damage or expense
V.The method of valuation and the method of computing the Trust’s net asset value; or
VI.Any valuations or net asset value provided by the Trust.
(c)Actions taken or omitted in reliance on Instructions or upon any information, order, indenture, stock certificate, membership certificate, power of attorney, assignment, affidavit or other instrument believed by BNY Mellon in good faith to be from an Authorized Person, or upon the opinion of legal counsel for the Trust or its own counsel, shall be conclusively presumed to have been taken or omitted in good faith.
For the services provided hereunder, the Trust agrees to pay BNY Mellon such compensation as is mutually agreed to in writing by the Trust and BNY Mellon from time to time and such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, costs of independent compliance reviews, record retention costs, reproduction charges and transportation and lodging costs) as are incurred by BNY Mellon in performing its duties hereunder. Except as hereinafter set forth, compensation shall be calculated and accrued daily and paid monthly. Upon termination of this Agreement before the end of any month, the compensation for such part of a month shall be prorated according to the proportion which such period bears to the full monthly period and shall be payable upon the effective date of termination of this Agreement. For the purpose of determining compensation payable to BNY Mellon, the Trust’s net asset value shall be computed at the times and in the manner specified in the Trust’s Offering Materials.
(a) The books and records pertaining to the Trust which are in the possession or under the control of BNY Mellon shall be the property of the Trust. The Trust and Authorized Persons shall have access to such books and records at all times during BNY Mellon’s normal business hours. Upon the reasonable request of the Trust, copies of any such books and records shall be provided by BNY Mellon to the Trust or to an Authorized Person, at the Trust’s expense.
(b) BNY Mellon shall keep all books and records with respect to the services to be performed by BNY Mellon hereunder in the form and manner required by Section 31 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules thereunder, as if the Trust was subject to such requirements.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective commencing upon regulatory approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission permitting shares of the Trust to be offered for sale, and, unless terminated pursuant to its terms, shall continue until 11:59 PM on the date which is the third anniversary of such date (the “Initial Term”), at which time this Agreement shall terminate, unless renewed in accordance with the terms hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, no services shall be provided to the Trust hereunder until such regulatory approval is obtained by the Trust.
(b) This Agreement shall automatically renew for successive terms of one (1) year each (each, a “Renewal Term”), unless the Trust or BNY Mellon gives written notice to the other party of its intent not to renew and such notice is received by the other party not less than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or the then-current Renewal Term (a "Non-Renewal Notice"). In the event a party provides a Non-Renewal Notice, this Agreement shall terminate at 11:59 PM on the last day of the Initial Term or Renewal Term, as applicable.
(c) If a party materially breaches this Agreement (a “Defaulting Party”) the other party (the “Non‑Defaulting Party”) may give written notice thereof to the Defaulting Party (“Breach Notice”), and if such material breach shall not have been remedied within thirty (30) days after the Breach Notice is given, then the Non- Defaulting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice of termination to the Defaulting Party (“Breach Termination Notice”), in which case this Agreement shall terminate as of 11:59 PM on the 30th day following the date the Breach Termination Notice is given, or such later date as may be specified in the Breach Termination Notice (but not later than the last day of the Initial Term or then-current Renewal Term, as appropriate). In all cases, termination by the Non‑Defaulting Party shall not constitute a waiver by the Non‑Defaulting Party of any other rights it might have under this Agreement or otherwise against the Defaulting Party.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, BNY Mellon may in its sole discretion terminate this Agreement immediately by sending notice thereof to the Trust upon the happening of any of the following: (i) the Trust commences as debtor any case or proceeding under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law, or there is commenced against the Trust any such case or proceeding; (ii) the Trust commences as debtor any case or proceeding seeking the appointment of a receiver, conservator, trustee, custodian or similar official for the Trust or any substantial part of its property or there is commenced against the Trust any such case or proceeding; (iii) the Trust makes a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; or (iv) the Trust admits in any recorded medium, written, electronic or otherwise, its inability to pay its debts as they come due. BNY Mellon may exercise its termination right under this Section 10(d) at any time after the occurrence of any of the foregoing events notwithstanding that such event may cease to be continuing prior to such exercise, and any delay in exercising this right shall not be construed as a waiver or other extinguishment of that right. Any exercise by BNY Mellon of its termination right under this Section 10(d) shall be without any prejudice to any other remedies or rights available to BNY Mellon and shall not be subject to any fee or penalty, whether monetary or equitable. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 18, notice of termination under this Section 10(d) shall be considered given and effective when given, not when received.
(e) The Trust may terminate this Agreement at any time upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice in the event that the Sponsor determines to liquidate the Trust. BNY Mellon may terminate this Agreement at any time upon ninety (90) days’ written notice for any reason and upon thirty (30) days’ written notice in the event of a breach of the Trust’s representations contained in Section 3(i)(e) hereof.
This Agreement may not be amended, changed or modified in any manner except by a written agreement executed by BNY Mellon and the Trust to be bound thereby.
12.Assignment; Subcontracting.
(a) This Agreement shall extend to and shall be binding upon the parties hereto, and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be
assignable or delegable by the Trust without the written consent of BNY Mellon, or by BNY Mellon without the written consent of the Trust.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing: (i) BNY Mellon may assign or transfer this Agreement to any BNY Mellon Affiliate or transfer this Agreement in connection with a sale of a majority or more of its assets, equity interests or voting control, provided that BNY Mellon gives the Trust thirty (30) days' prior written notice of such assignment or transfer and such assignment or transfer does not impair the provision of services under this Agreement in any material respect, and the assignee or transferee agrees to be bound by all terms of this Agreement in place of BNY Mellon; (ii) BNY Mellon may subcontract with, hire, engage or otherwise outsource to any BNY Mellon Affiliate with respect to the performance of any one or more of the functions, services, duties or obligations of BNY Mellon under this Agreement but any such subcontracting, hiring, engaging or outsourcing shall not relieve BNY Mellon of any of its liabilities hereunder; (iii) BNY Mellon may subcontract with, hire, engage or otherwise outsource to an unaffiliated third party with respect to the performance of any one or more of the functions, services, duties or obligations of BNY Mellon under this Agreement but any such subcontracting, hiring, engaging or outsourcing shall (A) require the prior written consent of the Trust and (B) limit BNY Mellon’s liability such that BNY Mellon shall only be liable for failure to reasonably select such unaffiliated third party, and BNY Mellon shall have no liability for any acts or omissions to act of such unaffiliated third party; and (iv) BNY Mellon, in the course of providing certain additional services requested by the Trust, including but not limited to, Typesetting or eBoard Book services (“Vendor Eligible Services”) as further described in Schedule I, may in its sole discretion, enter into an agreement or agreements with a financial printer, or electronic services provider (“Vendor”) to provide BNY Mellon with the ability to generate certain reports or provide certain functionality. BNY Mellon shall not be obligated to perform any of the Vendor Eligible Services unless an agreement between BNY Mellon and the Vendor for the provision of such services is then-currently in effect, and shall only be liable for the failure to reasonably select the Vendor. Upon request, BNY Mellon will disclose the identity of the Vendor and the status of the contractual relationship, and the Trust is free to attempt to contract directly with the Vendor for the provision of the Vendor Eligible Services.
(c) As compensation for the Vendor Eligible Services rendered by BNY Mellon pursuant to this Agreement, the Trust will pay to BNY Mellon such fees as may be agreed to in
writing by the Trust and BNY Mellon. In turn, BNY Mellon will be responsible for paying the Vendor’s fees. For the avoidance of doubt, BNY Mellon anticipates that the fees it charges hereunder will be more than the fees charged to it by the Vendor, and BNY Mellon will retain the difference between the amount paid to BNY Mellon hereunder and the fees BNY Mellon pays to the Vendor as compensation for the additional services provided by BNY Mellon in the course of making the Vendor Eligible Services available to the Trust.
13.Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction.
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict of laws principles thereof. The Trust hereby consents to the jurisdiction of a state or federal court situated in New York City, New York in connection with any dispute arising hereunder, and waives to the fullest extent permitted by law its right to a trial by jury. To the extent that in any jurisdiction the Trust may now or hereafter be entitled to claim, for itself or its assets, immunity from suit, execution, attachment (before or after judgment) or other legal process, the Trust irrevocably agrees not to claim, and it hereby waives, such immunity.
In case any provision in or obligation under this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions or obligations shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby, and if any provision is inapplicable to any person or circumstances, it shall nevertheless remain applicable to all other persons and circumstances.
Each and every right granted to BNY Mellon hereunder or under any other document delivered hereunder or in connection herewith, or allowed it by law or equity, shall be cumulative and may be exercised from time to time. No failure on the part of BNY Mellon to exercise, and no delay in exercising, any right will operate as a waiver thereof, nor will any single or partial exercise by BNY Mellon of any right preclude any other or future exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right.
All notices, requests, consents and other communications pursuant to this Agreement in writing shall be sent as follows:
if to the Trust, at
Bitwise Near ETF
250 Montgomery Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94104
if to BNY Mellon, at
BNY Mellon
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286
Attention: ETF Operations
with a copy to:
The Bank of New York Mellon
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286
Attention: Legal Dept. – Asset Servicing
or at such other place as may from time to time be designated in writing. Notices hereunder shall be effective upon receipt.
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original; but such counterparts together shall constitute only one instrument.
18. Confidentiality.
(a) Each party shall keep confidential any information relating to the other party’s business (“Confidential Information”). Confidential Information shall include (a) any data or information that is competitively sensitive material, and not generally known to the public, including, but not limited to, information about product plans, marketing strategies, finances, operations, customer relationships, customer profiles, customer lists, sales estimates, business plans, and internal performance results relating to the past, present or future business activities of
the Trust or BNY Mellon and their respective subsidiaries and affiliated companies; (b) any scientific or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula, or improvement that is commercially valuable and secret in the sense that its confidentiality affords the Trust or BNY Mellon a competitive advantage over its competitors; (c) all confidential or proprietary concepts, documentation, reports, data, specifications, computer software, source code, object code, flow charts, databases, inventions, know‑how, and trade secrets, whether or not patentable or copyrightable; and (d) anything designated as confidential. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information shall not be Confidential Information and shall not be subject to such confidentiality obligations if it: (a) is already known to the receiving party at the time it is obtained; (b) is or becomes publicly known or available through no wrongful act of the receiving party; (c) is rightfully received from a third party who, to the best of the receiving party’s knowledge, is not under a duty of confidentiality; (d) is released by the protected party to a third party without restriction; (e) is requested or required to be disclosed by the receiving party pursuant to a court order, subpoena, governmental or regulatory agency request or law; (f) is relevant to the defense of any claim or cause of action asserted against the receiving party; (g) is Trust information provided by BNY Mellon in connection with an independent third party compliance or other review; (h) is released in connection with the provision of services under this Agreement; or (i) has been or is independently developed or obtained by the receiving party. The provisions of this Section 20 shall survive termination of this Agreement for a period of one (1) year after such termination.
(b) The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial organization that provides services to clients through its affiliates and subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions (the “BNY Mellon Group”). The BNY Mellon Group may centralize functions including audit, accounting, risk, legal, compliance, sales, administration, product communication, relationship management, storage, compilation and analysis of customer-related data, and other functions (the “Centralized Functions”) in one or more affiliates, subsidiaries and third-party service providers. Solely in connection with the Centralized Functions, (i) the Trust consents to the disclosure of and authorizes BNY Mellon to disclose information regarding the Trust (“Customer-Related Data”) to the BNY Mellon Group and to its third-party service providers who are subject to confidentiality obligations with respect to such information and (ii) BNY Mellon may store the names and business contact information of the Trust’s employees and representatives on the
systems or in the records of the BNY Mellon Group or its service providers. The BNY Mellon Group may aggregate Customer-Related Data with other data collected and/or calculated by the BNY Mellon Group, and notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary the BNY Mellon Group will own all such aggregated data, provided that the BNY Mellon Group shall not distribute the aggregated data in a format that identifies Customer-Related Data with a particular customer. The Trust confirms that it is authorized to consent to the foregoing.
19. Non-Solicitation.
During the term of this Agreement and for one (1) year thereafter, the Trust shall not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or hire any of BNY Mellon’s employees, and the Trust shall cause the Trust’s Sponsor and any affiliates of the Trust to not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or hire any of BNY Mellon’s employees. To “knowingly” solicit, recruit or hire within the meaning of this provision does not include, and therefore does not prohibit, solicitation, recruitment or hiring of a BNY Mellon employee by the Trust, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Trust if the BNY Mellon employee was identified by such entity solely as a result of the BNY Mellon employee’s response to a general advertisement by such entity in a publication of trade or industry interest or other similar general solicitation by such entity.
[Signature page follows.]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused the foregoing instrument to be executed by their duly authorized officers and their seals to be hereunto affixed, all as of the latest date set forth below.
BITWISE NEAR ETF
By: /s/ Johanna Collins-Wood
Name: Johanna Collins-Wood
Title: Vice President
Date: 7/23/2026
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
By: /s/ Allison Gardner
Name: Allison Gardner
Title: Senior Vice President
Date: July 28, 2026
EXHIBIT A
I, Bitwise Near ETF, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Trust”), do hereby certify that:
The following individuals serve in the following positions with the Trust, and each has been duly elected or appointed by the Trust to each such position and qualified therefor in conformity with the Trust’s Organizational Documents, and the signatures set forth opposite their respective names are their true and correct signatures. Each such person is designated as an Authorized Person under the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement dated as of July 23, 2026, between the Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon.
Name Position Signature
Johanna Collins-Wood Vice President /s/ Johanna Collins-Wood
SCHEDULE I
Schedule of Services
All services provided in this Schedule of Services are subject to the review and approval of the appropriate Trust officers, Trust counsel and accountants of the Trust, as may be applicable. The services included on this Schedule of Services may be provided by BNY Mellon or a BNY Mellon Affiliate, collectively referred to herein as “BNY Mellon”.
VALUATION AND COMPUTATION ACCOUNTING SERVICES
BNY Mellon shall provide the following valuation and computation accounting services for the Trust:
▪Journalize investment, capital share and income and expense activities;
▪Maintain individual ledgers for Trust assets;
▪Maintain certain financial books and records for the Trust, including creation and redemption books and records, and Trust accounting records;
▪Maintain historical tax lots for Trust assets;
▪Reconcile cash (if applicable) and investment balances of the Trust with the Trust’s custodian;
▪Calculate various contractual expenses;
▪Calculate capital gains and losses;
▪Obtain quotes from pricing services as directed and approved by the Sponsor, or if such quotes are unavailable, then obtain such prices from the Sponsor, and in either case, calculate the market value of the Trust’s assets in accordance with the Trust's valuation policies or guidelines; provided, however, that BNY Mellon shall not under any circumstances be under a duty to independently price or value any of the Trust's assets itself or to confirm or validate any information or valuation provided by the Sponsor or any other pricing source, nor shall BNY Mellon have any liability relating to inaccuracies or otherwise with respect to such information or valuations;
▪Compute net asset value, calculated in the manner described in the Trust’s Offering Materials;
▪Transmit or make available a copy of the daily portfolio valuation to the Sponsor;
▪Publish basket to NSCC on each day on which trading occurs on the primary exchange on which the Trust’s shares trade.
FINANCIAL REPORTING
BNY Mellon shall provide the following financial reporting services for the Trust:
▪Financial Statement Preparation & Review
•Prepare financial statements for the Trust;
•Prepare the Trust’s periodic shareholder reports, including certain information furnished by the Trust to BNY Mellon, as required pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934; and
•Prepare, circulate and maintain the Trust’s financial reporting production calendar;
TAX SERVICES
BNY Mellon shall provide the following tax services for the Trust:
•Prepare annual grantor trust tax reporting statements for client review and approval.
FUND ADMINISTRATION SERVICES
BNY Mellon shall provide the following fund administration services for the Trust:
▪Establish appropriate expense accruals and compute expense ratios, maintain expense files and coordinate the payment of Trust approved invoices;
▪Calculate Trust approved income and per share amounts required for periodic distributions to be made by the Trust;
▪Calculate total return information;
▪Coordinate the Trust’s annual audit;
▪Supply various normal and customary portfolio and Trust statistical data as requested on an ongoing basis; and
IRS CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE:
To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, BNY Mellon informs the Trust that any U.S. tax advice contained in any communication from BNY Mellon to the Trust (including any future communications) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein or therein.