Grayscale Abruptly Withdraws Cardano, Hedera, and Polkadot ETF Filings

Grayscale quietly withdrew its filings for Cardano (ADA), Hedera (HBAR), and Polkadot (DOT) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within three minutes of each other on August 7. The withdrawals were made through the submission of Form RW filings, which contained identical language stating that Grayscale does not intend to proceed with the proposed distribution of shares.

The sequence of events was swift, with Cardano's withdrawal filed at 4:33:37 p.m. ET, Hedera at 4:34:55 p.m., and Polkadot coming last at 4:36:47 p.m. - all within a 190-second window.

Grayscale has not issued a public statement explaining the decision to withdraw these filings. The move comes as a reversal from earlier this year when Grayscale filed registration forms for the Cardano and Polkadot trusts, positioning both alongside a broader wave of altcoin ETF applications from major issuers.

The withdrawals do not signal that Grayscale is stepping back from crypto ETFs entirely, as the firm has continued to push forward elsewhere. For example, it recently launched a Hyperliquid Staking ETF and filed a preliminary S-1 for a Worldcoin ETF in July.