Grayscale Bails on Three Altcoin ETFs, Citing Strategic Withdrawal

Grayscale Investment, which manages over $45 billion in assets under management (AUM), has withdrawn its registration filings for proposed ETFs tracking Cardano (ADA), Hedera (HBAR), and Polkadot (DOT). This decision comes just before the six-month trading milestone of CME's regulated ADA futures on August 9.

The withdrawal of these applications is not a result of an SEC rejection, but rather a strategic move by Grayscale. The company had submitted three Form RW requests to withdraw the S-1 registration statements for its Cardano Trust ETF, Hedera Trust ETF, and Polkadot Trust ETF on August 7.

The related exchange filings were withdrawn months earlier: NYSE Arca withdrew the Cardano listing proposal on September 29, 2025, while Nasdaq followed suit with the Polkadot and Hedera proposals on November 3, 2025. This left Grayscale with registration filings that could not proceed without an active exchange listing process.

The decision to withdraw these applications leaves room for Grayscale to potentially return with new applications if market conditions or U.S. crypto rules become more favorable.