Grayscale Withdraws Three Altcoin ETF Filings Within Minutes

Grayscale has quietly withdrawn its Cardano, Hedera, and Polkadot exchange-traded fund (ETF) registrations within three minutes of each other, ending three attempts to bring the tokens to U.S. markets without explanation.

According to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Grayscale submitted three separate Form RW withdrawals on Aug. 7, pulling the S-1 registration statements for the Grayscale Cardano Trust ETF, the Grayscale Hedera Trust ETF, and the Grayscale Polkadot Trust ETF.

The withdrawals were filed in quick succession: Cardano at 4:33:37 p.m. ET, Hedera at 4:34:55 p.m., and Polkadot at 4:36:47 p.m.—all within a 190-second window. Each filing used identical language, stating that “Grayscale does not intend to proceed with the proposed distribution of shares.”

These are voluntary withdrawal requests under SEC Rule 477, not SEC orders rejecting the products. None of the registration statements had been declared effective, no securities were issued or sold, and no preliminary prospectus had been distributed. In short, Grayscale walked away before the products ever came close to trading, with the paperwork offering no explicit commercial or regulatory justification.

The withdrawals mark a reversal from Grayscale’s earlier momentum this year when it filed registration forms for the Cardano and Polkadot trusts in the spring, part of a broader wave of altcoin ETF applications from major issuers. Notably, the underlying exchange listing proposals had already been pulled once before: NYSE Arca withdrew its Cardano listing proposal in September last year, and Nasdaq withdrew its Polkadot and Hedera proposals a few months later.

Grayscale has not issued a public statement explaining the decision. Possible reasons range from muted investor demand for single-asset ADA, HBAR, and DOT products to a strategic shift in focus toward higher-priority filings, or a broader reassessment of which altcoins warrant a dedicated U.S.-listed vehicle.

The withdrawals do not signal a retreat from crypto ETFs overall. Grayscale continues to push forward elsewhere, having filed a preliminary S-1 for a Worldcoin ETF in July and launched its Hyperliquid Staking ETF a couple of months ago. Additionally, two days before the withdrawals, Grayscale’s head of research warned that the U.S. risks a crypto “exodus” if the CLARITY Act fails to pass the Senate, urging comprehensive market-structure rules.

That Grayscale would simultaneously lobby for a more favorable regulatory environment while abandoning three pending product filings highlights how selective issuers have become about which crypto ETF bets are worth pursuing under current SEC timelines.

For ADA, HBAR, and DOT holders hoping for a U.S.-listed spot vehicle, the door isn’t necessarily closed forever. Form RW withdrawals do not prevent Grayscale or other issuers from re-filing later if demand or regulatory conditions improve.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/finance/grayscale-withdraws-ada-hbar-dot-etf-190-seconds/