Nasdaq Files Form 19b-4 to List and Trade Hedera HBAR ETF from Grayscale #NewsETFs

Nasdaq has filed a Form 19b-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Hedera Trust. The ticker symbol for the ETF remains undisclosed as per the filing.

There are currently two asset managers seeking to launch their respective spot Hedera ETF.

With this move, Grayscale is the second asset manager seeking regulatory approval to offer an investment product that holds Hedera’s native cryptocurrency, HBAR, currently the 13th largest digital asset by market cap.

More ETFs All The Time

Before Grayscale, Canary Capital had lodged an S-1 filing with the SEC for the Canary HBAR ETF. The proposed fund is expected to trade on Nasdaq if greenlit by the SEC. Last week, Nasdaq submitted Form 19b-4 with the SEC for Canary’s spot HBAR ETF.

Nasdaq’s filing came after Grayscale Research added Hedera Hashgraph to its list of assets under consideration in terms of smart contract platforms in January. The list also includes Aptos (APT), Arbitrum (ARB), Celestia (TIA), Toncoin (TON), and TRON (TRX), to name a few.

Grayscale has been active in pursuing investment products tied to several major cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two leading digital assets.

Last month, NYSE Arca filed a 19b-4 proposal on behalf of Grayscale to list a spot Cardano ETF. The filing was acknowledged by the SEC, initiating the review process. The proposed ETF would be Grayscale’s first standalone ADA investment vehicle, tracking the price of Cardano via an index of crypto exchange prices.

Also in February, Nasdaq submitted Form 19b-4 for the Grayscale Polkadot Trust, marking the second active attempt to launch an investment product tied to DOT after 21Shares.

Apart from these fresh offerings, Grayscale also targets converting its existing crypto trust products, including the XRP Trust, Solana Trust, and Dogecoin Trust, into ETFs.

Which Altcoin ETF Will Come First Under Trump Administration?

Following the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. last year, fund managers have actively pushed for the introduction of altcoin ETFs. The trend capitalizes on a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration.

Since Trump’s inauguration, the SEC has geared toward resolving its legal disputes with cryptocurrency businesses.

In the last few weeks, the securities agency has reportedly reached an agreement with numerous firms like Coinbase, Gemini, and OpenSea, among others. The SEC vs. Kraken lawsuit was the latest case dismissed.

Resolving legal challenges is seen as a necessary step toward the potential ETF approval, though it does not necessarily guarantee that the Commission will eventually greenlight all the crypto ETF filings.

Despite the recent lawsuit dismissal spree, two of the major cases, including those involved Binance and Ripple Labs, have not been fully resolved. This means the legal status of the cryptocurrencies in these cases, like SOL, XRP, and ADA, is still unclear. As a result, ETFs tied to these assets still face roadblocks.

Last month, Binance and the SEC jointly filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to pause the ongoing civil lawsuit for 60 days. Their request was granted, putting the case on hold until mid-April 2025.

For the SEC-Ripple lawsuit, the case remains active in the appeals court. The SEC briefly removed the case from its website’s litigation section in January, but it was simply moved to the appeals section. No settlement or dismissal has been confirmed.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart believe an ETF tracking Litecoin (LTC) will likely be the first to gain regulatory nod under the Trump administration.

Experts give the highest odds of approval for the spot Litecoin ETF, since the underlying asset has already been deemed a commodity by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).