Grayscale withdraws three altcoin ETF filings in 190s

Grayscale filed requests to withdraw S-1 registration statements for proposed Cardano, Hedera and Polkadot exchange-traded funds on Aug. 7. EDGAR timestamps show the Cardano filing at 4:33:37 p.m. ET, Hedera at 4:34:55 p.m. ET and Polkadot at 4:36:47 p.m. ET.

Each filing was submitted as a Form RW to withdraw the S-1 registration under Rule 477. The operative language in the forms states Grayscale does not intend to proceed with the proposed distribution of shares. The filings note the registration statements had not been declared effective, no securities had been or would be issued or sold under them, and no preliminary prospectus had been distributed.

The Form RWs are requests to withdraw the registration statements and are not SEC orders rejecting the products. The withdrawal filings do not include separate commercial or regulatory explanations for ending the registrations.

Exchange-level proposals related to those products had already been removed. NYSE Arca withdrew the Cardano listing proposal on Sept. 29, 2025, and Nasdaq listed withdrawals for the Polkadot and Hedera proposals on Nov. 3, 2025. Those exchange filings addressed whether an exchange could list and trade the products; the S-1 registrations covered the proposed public offering of shares.

In September 2025 the SEC approved generic exchange listing standards for qualifying commodity-based trust shares, allowing certain spot digital-asset products to rely on those standards without a product-specific Section 19(b) rule filing. That approval does not make a registration statement effective or waive Securities Act requirements for a public offering. The Form RW filings remove the existing registration statements from EDGAR.

An Aug. 8 review of EDGAR showed other Grayscale altcoin registrations remained in preliminary status. Registration statements for proposed Bittensor, Aave and BNB exchange-traded products were still preliminary and not effective, and cited registration statements for proposed NEAR and Zcash products likewise remained preliminary. The SEC declared effective the registration statements for two Grayscale staking products earlier in 2026: the Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF on March 11 and the Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF on June 2. Effectiveness notices do not by themselves establish when a product begins trading.

The Form RWs state only that Grayscale does not intend to proceed, and the filings do not specify additional reasons for the withdrawals.