Grayscale has submitted a second amended S-1 registration statement for its proposed spot BNB exchange-traded fund, a move Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said suggests active talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the same day, VanEck filed an update for its own competing spot BNB ETF, putting the two asset managers on parallel tracks for a product that would track the native token of the Binance ecosystem.
Signs of SEC engagement
The amended filing, the second since Grayscale first proposed the BNB ETF, was submitted to the SEC on March 31. Seyffart pointed to the revision as evidence that the regulator is engaging substantively with the application rather than letting it sit. Amended S-1s typically signal that the SEC has provided feedback and the issuer is responding, a process that can either accelerate approval or expose outstanding concerns.
VanEck’s update, also dated March 31, covers the same core structure: a trust that holds BNB and issues shares trading on an exchange. The simultaneous filings suggest both firms see a window for a token-based product that goes beyond Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, which won SEC clearance last year.
What the filings contain
Neither Grayscale nor VanEck has disclosed the specific changes in their updated filings. The S-1 forms, which are public, typically outline the fund’s custody arrangements, valuation methodology, and risk disclosures. For a BNB ETF, regulators would need to be comfortable with the token’s liquidity, market surveillance, and potential for manipulation — the same hurdles that delayed spot Bitcoin ETFs for years.
Grayscale’s filing is its second revision. The first came in early 2025, shortly after the SEC signaled a more open stance toward crypto ETFs under a new administration. VanEck, which already operates a spot Bitcoin ETF and an Ether ETF, has been a consistent applicant for altcoin-based products.
The race for approval
The SEC has not yet set a deadline for a decision on either BNB ETF. Under standard procedures, the agency has 240 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register to approve or deny a rule change for a listing exchange. The exchanges that would host the funds — likely Nasdaq for Grayscale and Cboe for VanEck — filed their 19b-4 applications months ago.
BNB is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with a daily trading volume that exceeds $1.5 billion. That liquidity may help address the SEC’s historical concerns about market depth. However, the token is closely tied to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, which faces ongoing enforcement actions from the SEC and the Department of Justice.
The SEC has not commented on either filing. The next milestone will come when the agency either publishes a notice in the Federal Register or issues a formal order on the 19b-4s. Until then, the amended S-1s remain the strongest signal yet that a BNB ETF could be closer to reality.
