Grayscale quietly drops Cardano, Polkadot and Hedera ETF plans
Grayscale Investments has officially withdrawn its applications for ETFs tracking Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera. The decision follows significant market value declines for these tokens and was initiated by the firm rather than the SEC.
Why it matters
This move signals a strategic retreat by a major crypto asset manager from altcoin-focused investment products amid poor market performance.
Through three separate requests with the regulator, Grayscale told the SEC it “does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution” of the shares of each trust.
The withdrawals were initiated by Grayscale and weren’t SEC rejections.
Grayscale’s initial Cardano ETF proposal came in February 2025, and its Polkadot filing later that month. Grayscale filed the corresponding ADA and DOT registration statements on Aug. 29, followed by its HBAR registration on Sept. 9.
The proposed funds were designed as passive vehicles that would track the value of their respective tokens after fees and expenses. Grayscale said it had not sold securities or distributed preliminary prospectuses under the registrations.
All three tokens have been losing value over the last few months. Year-to-date, ADA is down more than 41%, while DOT lost 54% of its value and Hedera’s HBAR lost 35%.
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