Grayscale Pulls 3 Altcoin ETF Filings in Just 190 Seconds

Grayscale Investments withdrew registration statements for three planned altcoin exchange-traded funds on August 7, filing three separate Form RWs with the SEC in a span of just 190 seconds. The withdrawals covered the Grayscale Cardano Trust ETF, Grayscale Hedera Trust ETF, and Grayscale Polkadot Trust ETF, ending the current registration process for all three without public explanation. ADA, HBAR, and DOT each fell roughly 2% in the following 24 hours as traders weighed the abrupt retreat.

Three Filings Pulled in Sequence

SEC records show the withdrawals were accepted between 4:33:37 p.m. and 4:36:47 p.m. ET on Friday: the Cardano filing first, followed by Hedera at 4:34:55 p.m., then Polkadot at 4:36:47 p.m. Each Form RW cited Rule 477 under the Securities Act of 1933 and gave identical language for the decision: “The Sponsor does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution of the Trust’s shares registered by the Registration Statement.” Grayscale confirmed none of the three registration statements had been declared effective and that no securities were issued, sold, or distributed under any of them.

The withdrawn S-1s were originally filed in late August and early September 2025, during a broad push by Grayscale and competitors to expand crypto ETF offerings. Related exchange listing proposals had already lapsed months earlier: NYSE Arca withdrew its Cardano rule change on September 29, 2025, while Nasdaq withdrew its Polkadot and Hedera proposals on November 3, 2025. Those exchange filings addressed whether the products could list and trade; Friday’s withdrawals addressed the separate registration statements covering the public offering of shares. Five other Grayscale altcoin filings, covering Bittensor, Aave, BNB, NEAR, and Zcash, remained preliminary as of August 8.

ADA, HBAR and DOT React to the News

Cardano’s ADA token fell more than 2% to trade near $0.196, with a 24-hour range between $0.194 and $0.199, according to CoinMarketCap data. ADA futures open interest rose nearly 1% over four hours to $477.88 million, per Coinglass, suggesting active positioning rather than a broad exit from derivatives markets.

Hedera’s HBAR dropped 2.24% to $0.068, extending a decline that has now exceeded 30% over the past two months. Polkadot’s DOT fell close to 2% to $0.805, with a 24-hour range between $0.7976 and $0.8126; a 27% jump in trading volume pointed to active dip-buying interest even as the price slipped.

The withdrawals follow a broader pattern of retreat among crypto ETF issuers. Bitwise separately withdrew its S-1 registration for a proposed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, and filings to pull crypto ETF applications have increased in recent weeks amid intensifying competition and thin inflows across the sector.

Conclusion

Grayscale’s identical, unexplained language across all three filings leaves the market to interpret the retreat on its own, though the timing lines up with a broader slowdown in crypto ETF demand rather than any single catalyst tied to Cardano, Hedera, or Polkadot individually. The lapsed exchange listing proposals from late 2025 suggest institutional appetite for these specific products had already cooled well before Friday’s paperwork made it official. Whether Grayscale revives interest in these tokens through new filings, or shifts focus to its five still-pending altcoin applications, will determine if this marks a permanent retreat or simply a pause before a different approach.