- The U.S. SEC has acknowledged NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list & trade Grayscale Cardano ETF.
- The Cardano ETF would track ADA’s prices, marking a regulated exposure on NYSE Arca.
- Grayscale’s Cardano ETF is under SEC review, and the final decision is expected by August 2025.
On February 24, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged Grayscale’s filing for a spot Cardano ETF to be listed and traded on the NYSE Arca. This marks the start of the review process, and the final decision on the approval will be made by August 2025.
This proposed ETF aims to provide investors with regulated exposure to Cardano (ADA) without actually holding the cryptocurrency. Instead, shares of the Grayscale Cardano Trust would represent ownership in the fund’s ADA holdings, allowing investors to buy and sell shares of the Grayscale Cardano Trust.
The Trust is said to track the price of Cardano through an index that surveys its price daily across multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, like Coinbase, Bitfinex, Kraken, etc. These exchanges were selected based on their compliance with U.S. federal and state license regulations. To ensure security, the trust’s ADA holdings will be managed by Coinbase Custody Trust Company, which offers advanced features like geographically distributed private key storage in secure vaults.
SEC Easing Regulations
The new task force called SEC Crypto 2.0, announced by the acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, has been easing up regulatory pressures on cryptocurrency firms. Uyeda created this task force to resolve longstanding uncertainties in crypto regulation by developing clear guidelines to ensure consistent enforcement of digital assets. This shift has already made the SEC drop cases against well-known platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, signaling a more crypto-friendly stance.
Under the ruling of Mark Uyeda, the SEC appears to be more crypto-friendly, and there has been a surge in ETF applications. Just recently, on February 19, the SEC acknowledged half a dozen ETF filings, including staking, options, in-kind redemptions, and new types of altcoins. Along with that, on February 24, the U.S. securities exchange Nasdaq sought permission to list an ETF tied to the Hedera Network’s native token, HBAR.
Related: SEC Approves Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF on NYSE Arca
While this regulatory shift is boosting optimism in the crypto market, it is still uncertain how many of these filings will actually be approved. The SEC’s final decisions will likely depend on a mix of market conditions and regulatory hurdles. Either way, it is certain that the growing interest in crypto investment products shows how much the space is evolving.
