NEAR20 FAQ
Live on RHEA Finance https://app.rhea.finance/sauce/6774
NEAR20 — Your Questions Answered
Everything you need to know about NEAR20 — the institutional-grade agentic yield token built on NEAR Protocol in partnership with the NEAR Foundation.
What is NEAR20
What is NEAR20?
NEAR20 is an agentic, yield-bearing token natively deployed on the NEAR Protocol. It gives holders exposure to a continuously managed options strategy — selling weekly knock-in covered calls on NEAR/USDC with Tier 1 institutional market makers — and accrues the collected option premium into the token price.
NEAR20 is issued by a Luxembourg SPV (Verified SV Sàrl) managed by Verified Assets Limited, an FCA-regulated portfolio manager in London. The strategy is provided by Margarita Finance and is part of the x20 Yieldcoin product suite, which also includes SOL20 on Solana.
Put simply: you deposit NEAR, receive NEAR20 tokens, and the token price increases as the strategy generates yield — combining the predictability of structured income with on-chain, permissionless access.
What are NEAR20's key product parameters?
Target APY
15–20%
Underlying
NEAR/USDC
Investment Currency
NEAR
Blockchain
NEAR Protocol
Redemptions
Daily (1/7th)
Full Liquidity
Within 1 week
Management Fee
2% p.a.
Performance Fee
20%*
*Performance fee applies above SOFR + high watermark only — so fees are charged solely on returns exceeding the risk-free rate and only when the NAV is at a new all-time high.
When did NEAR20 launch and what is its current status?
The NEAR Foundation formalised the partnership in December 2025, at which point the launch was publicly announced. The primary market minting took place in early January 2026, and the strategy has been running via the Luxembourg SPV since then, with daily NAV reporting by Verified Assets Limited.
NEAR20 went live on RHEA Finance DEX on March 17, 2026, making it permissionlessly accessible to all NEAR ecosystem users. The NAV is now reflected in the token's market price on RHEA Finance.
NEAR20 is live and tradeable now on rhea.finance — no KYC required for DEX trading.
How is NEAR20 different from simply holding NEAR or staking?
vs. holding NEAR: NEAR20 runs a short knock-in covered call strategy on NEAR, which performs best in flat and mildly bullish markets — the call expires worthless, the premium is fully collected, and NAV grows. In sideways or ranging environments it consistently outperforms holding NEAR outright. The strategy underperforms in sharp NEAR rallies where the barrier is breached upward, capping participation in the upside move (though the premium is still collected). In sharp selloffs, the premium collected provides a partial cushion relative to holding NEAR directly.
vs. staking NEAR: NEAR staking yields are typically in the range of 7–10% APY, denominated in NEAR. NEAR20 targets 15–20% APY also denominated in NEAR, via a different mechanism entirely — selling volatility rather than participating in network consensus. NEAR20 is an investment product, not a staking mechanism; it carries different and additional risks.
NEAR20 is not a staking product and does not involve NEAR network validators. It is a structured yield product governed by the Swiss DLT Act and managed by an FCA-regulated portfolio manager.
Access & Redemption
Where can I buy or mint NEAR20?
Primary market (KYC'd investors): Qualified institutional investors can mint NEAR20 directly with the Luxembourg SPV via app.margarita.finance after completing the KYC and onboarding process.
Secondary market (permissionless): NEAR20 is live now on RHEA Finance DEX on the NEAR Protocol — no KYC required. Any user can buy and sell NEAR20 directly on the DEX.
The on-chain NEAR20 contract address is publicly verifiable at near20.margaritafinance.near.
Can I redeem NEAR20 at any time?
Yes. NEAR20 offers daily redemptions of up to 1/7th of your position, allowing full liquidation within one week. This schedule aligns with the 1-week tenor of the underlying option trades — positions unwind naturally as the weekly options mature each day.
NEAR20 tokens can also be sold at any time on RHEA Finance at the prevailing market price, subject to available DEX liquidity.
Is there a minimum investment?
For primary market minting via the app, a minimum subscription amount applies in line with the Luxembourg SPV's offering terms. Please contact us via booking a call for current minimums and onboarding details.
For secondary market purchases on RHEA Finance, there is no minimum — NEAR20 is live and freely tradeable at rhea.finance.
Who is eligible to invest via the primary market?
Primary market minting is restricted to professional/qualified investors — broadly, individuals with $1M+ net worth or $200k+ annual income, or entities with $5M+ total assets — who have completed KYC onboarding via the Margarita platform. US persons are excluded under Regulation S.
NEAR20 tokens purchased on the RHEA Finance DEX are permissionlessly accessible. Applicable retail suitability requirements vary by jurisdiction and remain the responsibility of the individual investor.
Strategy & Yield
How does NEAR20 generate yield?
NEAR20 generates yield by running a short knock-in covered call strategy on NEAR/USDC — daily rebalancing into weekly ATM knock-in call options (barrier reverse convertibles) with multiple Tier 1 institutional market makers.
Every day, 20% of the NAV is deployed into a fresh 1-week option trade. The FCA-regulated portfolio manager (Verified Assets Limited) collects competitive quotes from Tier 1 market makers — including STS Digital, GSR, and others — and selects the best execution. The option premium collected accrues directly into the NEAR20 token price, incrementally growing the NAV over time.
The revolving structure — different strikes, barriers, and entry points each day — diversifies timing risk. In high-volatility environments, implied volatility rises, which increases the option premium available, creating a partial natural hedge against drawdown periods. NEAR's historically elevated implied volatility makes this strategy particularly well-suited to the NEAR ecosystem.
What are the risks of NEAR20?
NEAR20 is an investment product with real risk of capital loss. The primary risks are:
Market risk: If NEAR rallies sharply and ends above the knock-in barrier at maturity, the strategy's upside is capped — the investor delivers NEAR at the strike price and foregoes further appreciation, though the premium is still collected. In sharp selloffs, the premium provides a partial cushion but does not fully offset NEAR's decline. In extreme scenarios (NEAR → 0), full capital loss is possible.
Counterparty/credit risk: The underlying trades are OTC contracts with institutional market makers. If a counterparty defaults, recovery may be partial or delayed. The FCA-regulated portfolio manager manages counterparty risk through diversification and assessment of counterparty creditworthiness.
Liquidity risk: Primary market redemptions are capped at 1/7th of the position per day. DEX liquidity depends on available pool depth.
There is no leverage and no margin call risk. The maximum loss is limited to the invested capital.
The European knock-in barrier is observed only once — at maturity on the final fixing date. Intra-week NEAR price drops below the barrier do not trigger the knock-in. Only the closing price at weekly expiry matters.
Is the 15–20% APY target guaranteed?
No. Returns are never guaranteed. The 15–20% is a calibrated target across full market cycles, agreed jointly with the NEAR Foundation based on their risk appetite and an analysis of NEAR/USDC implied volatility. Actual realised returns depend on market conditions, implied volatility levels, and barrier hit frequency in any given period.
Risk is actively managed through daily rebalancing across different strikes and entry points, short 1-week option tenors, competitive multi-dealer execution (best price across multiple market makers), and dynamic barrier calibration in elevated-volatility environments.
How is the NEAR20 NAV calculated, and how does arbitrage work between NAV and the DEX price?
The NAV is calculated daily by Verified Assets Limited (the FCA-regulated portfolio manager and Calculation Agent) by netting all settled OTC option payoffs and deducting applicable management and performance fees. This produces a per-token NAV that is published as a price feed and reflected in the NEAR20 token price.
On the secondary market, NEAR20 trades on RHEA Finance at a price determined by the AMM. If the AMM price diverges from the NAV per token, arbitrageurs can profit by minting NEAR20 at NAV via the primary market (for KYC'd investors) or by trading on the DEX — helping keep the market price anchored to the underlying NAV over time.
How does the strategy hold up in volatile markets? Should I expect a smoothly rising NAV or fluctuations?
Because NEAR20 is NEAR-denominated, large swings in the NEAR/USDC exchange rate do not directly affect the NAV per NEAR20 token. The strategy's primary sensitivity is to implied volatility on NEAR/USDC options: when implied vol rises, the premia collected on the covered calls increase, which is generally positive for yield. When implied vol falls, premia compress and the strategy earns less.
Yield accrues daily into the NAV as option positions settle, so the NAV follows a broadly increasing path under normal conditions. However, fluctuations should be expected — particularly in periods where the knock-in barrier is breached on a given weekly trade, which temporarily reduces the NAV before recovering through subsequent premium collection. The strategy is calibrated to smooth out these effects over time through daily rebalancing across multiple positions with different strikes and expiries.
Is AI used in investment decision-making?
No. AI is not used in investment decision-making or any regulated portfolio management activity. Strike levels, barriers, and tenors are determined by Verified Assets Limited (the FCA-regulated portfolio manager) in partnership with Allasso, a quantitative options firm.
AI is used to automate operational workflows — requesting quotes, issuing on-chain products, and interacting with counterparties that support API-based quoting. Many market makers still quote via Telegram, so human judgment remains in the loop for those interactions.
References to "agentic" or "AI-managed" in our marketing describe the operational automation layer — not autonomous investment decision-making.
Legal & Structure
Who manages the funds behind NEAR20?
The legal structure for NEAR20 is as follows:
Issuer: Verified SV Sàrl (Luxembourg) — a bankruptcy-remote SPV compartment. Assets are ring-fenced from Margarita Finance's corporate balance sheet.
Portfolio Manager & Calculation Agent: Verified Assets Limited (Company No. 15681826), 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX, UK — FCA-regulated. Independently executes trades, selects counterparties, and calculates the NAV daily.
Product Sponsor: Margarita Finance Technology Ltd. (Grand Cayman) — provides strategy parameters, NEAR Protocol tokenization infrastructure, and investor platform. Has no discretion over trade execution or NAV calculation.
Custody: Fireblocks institutional custody.
Governing Law: Swiss law. Arbitration in Zurich.
How can I verify that investor funds are safe?
Multiple independent safeguards are in place:
FCA-regulated portfolio manager (Verified Assets Limited), subject to FCA conduct standards, AML, and KYC requirements — independent of Margarita Finance.
Independent NAV calculation by Verified Assets Limited. Margarita Finance has no role in determining the NAV.
Bankruptcy-remote Luxembourg SPV — investor assets are legally ring-fenced.
Competitive multi-dealer RfQ on every daily rebalancing — market-based pricing across 3+ counterparties.
Fireblocks institutional custody for all SPV assets.
Daily NAV price feed published on app UI and API, reflected in the live NEAR20 token price on RHEA Finance.
On-chain token transparency: all NEAR20 mints and burns are publicly verifiable at nearblocks.io.
We are happy to facilitate a direct introduction to Verified Assets Limited for investors wishing to conduct further due diligence.
How is the NEAR20 token price determined?
The NEAR20 token price reflects the NAV of the underlying Luxembourg SPV, calculated daily by Verified Assets Limited (the independent FCA-regulated portfolio manager and Calculation Agent). As the strategy collects option premia each week and accrues them into the fund's NAV, the token price increases accordingly.
The NAV is published as a price feed via our app and API, and is reflected in the live NEAR20 market price on RHEA Finance. The initial token price was 1.00 NEAR at launch.
We are exploring independent third-party attestation solutions — consistent with institutional RWA products — to provide additional on-chain verification of the NAV methodology as the underlying trade execution migrates on-chain over time.
NEAR Partnership
What is the NEAR Foundation's involvement in NEAR20?
The NEAR Foundation entered into a strategic partnership with Margarita Finance to seed NEAR20 and inject liquidity to bolster usability on the NEAR Protocol. As a founding liquidity provider, the NEAR Foundation invested in NEAR20 via primary market subscription in January 2026.
The NEAR Foundation co-ordinated the DEX liquidity pool setup on RHEA Finance together with their ecosystem market maker, resulting in the public launch on March 17, 2026.
Official announcements:
Why was NEAR Protocol chosen for NEAR20?
NEAR Protocol was chosen as the first x20 Yieldcoin deployment (before SOL20) for several reasons:
Ecosystem alignment: The NEAR Foundation's strategic interest in enabling a new class of composable, agentic yield products for the NEAR ecosystem made them a natural partner and seed investor.
Implied volatility: NEAR/USDC options tend to command attractive implied volatility premia, making the short-volatility strategy particularly well-suited to generate the target 15–20% APY.
DeFi infrastructure: RHEA Finance provides the DEX infrastructure needed for permissionless secondary market access, enabling NEAR20 to reach the full spectrum of NEAR ecosystem users beyond just institutional investors.
On-chain native issuance: NEAR20 is deployed directly on the NEAR Protocol as a native token at near20.margaritafinance.near, fully consistent with NEAR's account model.
Where can I find official announcements and further documentation?
Official public resources:
margarita.finance — product overview and app access
For the product Factsheet and due diligence materials, please book a call with the team or contact us via the website. Data room access is available for institutional counterparties.
Ready to explore NEAR20? We're happy to walk you through the details.
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