Grayscale pulled its registration for a Cardano spot ETF on Aug. 7, along with parallel filings for Hedera and Polkadot. Two days later, ADA crossed six months of CME futures trading — a threshold that under SEC generic listing standards opens a faster path to a spot ETF. But so far, no sponsor has filed a new application.
Why the withdrawal
The Cardano Trust ETF registration never became effective, and no securities were issued or sold under it. Grayscale's other altcoin registrations — Bittensor, Aave, BNB, NEAR, Zcash — remain active, which points to a portfolio-level decision rather than an ADA-specific problem. ADA has fallen more than 41% year-to-date and roughly 70% since the original filing, so the timing isn't great for a new product.
The timing
The withdrawal came two days before ADA's six-month futures anniversary. Under SEC generic listing standards, qualifying commodity-based trust shares can list without a separate 19b-4 filing, which can take up to 240 days if extended. That means Cardano now qualifies for the faster route — but no one has used it.
What's left in ADA ETFs
Volatility Shares runs a Cardano ETF based on CME futures, not direct ADA, with combined net assets of about $1.26 million as of July. Grayscale's CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF dropped ADA in its January rebalance, replacing it with BNB. Franklin Templeton's Crypto Index ETF holds ADA at 0.69% of net assets, about $70,709 as of end of last year. So direct exposure is thin.
No sponsor has filed a new spot ETF application since the withdrawal. The faster path is open, but it's unclear who might take it. The SEC's generic listing standards allow qualifying commodity-based trust shares to list without a separate 19b-4 filing, and Cardano now meets the six-month futures requirement. The ball is in someone's court.
