On Aug. 7, Grayscale filed to withdraw its ETF registration statements for Cardano, Hedera, and Polkadot. The three Form RW filings were accepted just 190 seconds apart, each stating the company does not intend to proceed with the proposed distribution of shares.
A coordinated pullback
The withdrawals were voluntary requests under Rule 477, not SEC orders rejecting the funds. None of the registration statements had been declared effective, and no securities were issued or sold. No preliminary prospectus had been distributed either. In plain terms, the company walked away before any product ever reached the market.
That timing stands out. Three separate filings landing within a few minutes suggests a deliberate, coordinated decision, even though the stated reason is boilerplate. The documents offer no explanation beyond the decision not to proceed.
Exchange rules already gone
The withdrawal of these registrations follows an earlier retreat at the exchange level. NYSE Arca had already pulled its Cardano rule proposal on Sept. 29, 2025. Nasdaq withdrew its Polkadot and Hedera proposals on Nov. 3, 2025. So by the time Grayscale filed its Form RWs, the exchange listings that would have supported these funds were already off the table.
One thing that did not trigger the withdrawals: a change in SEC policy. The agency approved generic exchange listing standards for qualifying commodity-based trust shares in September 2025, but that approval doesn't make any individual registration statement effective. It just sets the bar for future listings.
What's left in the pipeline
Grayscale still has a stack of preliminary altcoin ETF registrations on file, including Bittensor, Aave, BNB, NEAR, and Zcash. Those are in earlier stages and remain active. Two other Grayscale staking ETFs — one for Avalanche, one for Hyperliquid — actually made it through. Their registration statements were declared effective on March 11 and June 2, respectively.
So the picture is mixed. Some products get the green light, others get quietly shelved. The three pulled today join a growing list of filings that never reached the finish line.
Motive not disclosed
The filings don't say why Grayscale decided to drop these particular funds. Market conditions, regulatory uncertainty, or a shift in strategy could all be factors, but none of that is in the record. The company simply stated its intention not to proceed, and the SEC accepted the withdrawals.
What's clear is that the registrations are gone. The exchange rules that would have governed these funds were already withdrawn, so the whole effort has been unwound. Grayscale's active ETF slate is thinner now, though the company still has multiple irons in the fire. Whether Cardano, Hedera, or Polkadot ever resurface as ETF proposals is a question the filings leave open.
