Grayscale Investments, which manages $45 billion in assets, has withdrawn its exchange-traded fund applications for Cardano (ADA), Hedera (HBAR), and Polkadot (DOT). The three proposed products, which had been pending since late 2025, have now officially been shelved.
The decision came one day before CME’s regulated ADA futures completed six months of trading history on August 9. The timing may have been a coincidence, but it did not go unnoticed by the market.
Grayscale withdraws three filings in succession
According to documents filed with the SEC, Grayscale submitted three separate Form RW notices on August 7 to terminate the S-1 registration statements for its Cardano Trust ETF, Hedera Trust ETF, and Polkadot Trust ETF.
The Cardano and Polkadot applications were initially filed on August 29, 2025, while the Hedera filing followed on September 9, 2025. Grayscale had been waiting for nearly a year to move forward with the three funds.
In practice, the process had stalled much earlier. The related exchange-listing proposals were withdrawn months ago. NYSE Arca pulled its Cardano listing proposal on September 29, 2025, while Nasdaq withdrew both the Polkadot and Hedera proposals on November 3, 2025.
Although the S-1 registration statements remained active on paper, the mechanism required to bring the products to an exchange had already disappeared.
What is behind the withdrawals?
Launching a cryptocurrency ETF requires two separate SEC filings. The S-1 provides detailed information about the fund’s structure, while the 19b-4 asks the SEC to approve the exchange’s request to list the product.
In Grayscale’s case, the second part of the process had collapsed months earlier. Keeping the first part active no longer served any practical purpose.
Instead of waiting for a formal SEC decision, the company chose to voluntarily terminate the applications. Using the standard language included in Form RW notices, Grayscale said it would no longer proceed with the proposed distribution of shares.
The filings also noted that the registration statements had never become effective and that no shares had been issued or sold.
The SEC did not formally reject the applications
Grayscale did not receive a formal rejection from the SEC for any of the three products. The withdrawals were entirely voluntary, meaning the door has not been permanently closed.
If market conditions or cryptocurrency regulations in the United States change, Grayscale could submit new applications for the same products.
Meanwhile, early-stage applications involving Bittensor (TAO), Aave (AAVE), BNB, Near Protocol (NEAR), and Zcash (ZEC) remain pending. The withdrawal of these three filings does not mean Grayscale has abandoned all of its altcoin ETF plans.
The company appears to be narrowing its pipeline and deciding which products have a realistic path toward an exchange listing.
