Grayscale Withdraws Spot ETF Filings for Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera
The asset manager voluntarily pulled registration statements for three altcoin products in a rapid series of SEC filings.
Grayscale Investments has withdrawn its registration statements for proposed spot ETFs tied to Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), and Hedera (HBAR). The move effectively ends the current registration process for these three altcoin products.
On August 7, 2026, Grayscale submitted Form RW requests to the SEC to withdraw the S-1 registration statements for the three assets. The filings occurred in a rapid burst between 4:33 p.m. and 4:36 p.m. ET, spanning approximately 190 seconds. In the filings, Grayscale stated that the sponsor "does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution of the Trust's shares."
This decision follows a period of stalled progress for the products. The original S-1 registrations were filed in late 2025, with Cardano and Polkadot submitted on August 29 and Hedera on September 9. However, the necessary exchange listing proposals (19b-4) had already been pulled months earlier. NYSE Arca withdrew the Cardano proposal on September 29, 2025, while Nasdaq withdrew the Polkadot and Hedera proposals on November 3, 2025.
Institutional Demand Gap
The withdrawals highlight a growing divide in institutional appetite for digital assets. Following the success of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, Grayscale attempted to diversify into a broader array of altcoins. While assets like Solana and XRP saw significant inflows after their launches, smaller-cap assets like ADA, DOT, and HBAR struggled to generate the institutional demand required to justify the costs of registration and listing.
Despite a general trend toward faster listing standards by the SEC in 2026, the lack of committed exchange partners rendered these specific S-1 filings functionally dormant. The move signals a strategic pruning by Grayscale, suggesting that the "altcoin ETF" wave is concentrating around a few select, high-demand assets rather than expanding broadly across the market.
Remaining Pipeline
The withdrawal of these three products does not impact Grayscale's existing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Furthermore, the firm maintains several other active or preliminary filings for assets including Bittensor, Aave, BNB, Near Protocol, and Zcash. The firm has also seen recent success with other products, as its Avalanche and Hyperliquid ETFs became effective in March and June 2026, respectively.