- Nasdaq has filed form 19b-4 for a Grayscale Avalanche spot ETF
- Avalanche price was down amid cypto sell-off, but remains bullish above $20.
Grayscale has filed an application for approval from the US Securities and Exchange for the listing and trading of shares of an Avalanche spot exchange-traded fund.
On March 28, Nasdaq submitted form 19b-4 for the Grayscale Avalanche Trust to the SEC, marking the official filing for the asset manager’s spot Avalanche ETF.
It’s the latest filing before the securities watchdog for an altcoin-related spot ETF.
Grayscale adds to its altcoin ETF applications
While Grayscale joins a host of other asset managers and investment providers scrambling for SEC approval of the next spot ETF in the US, it’s not the company’s first such application.The GBTC issuer has filings for XRP, Solana, Litecoin and Cadano before the regulator.
The Avalanche spot ETF proposed rule change is thus the latest filing for a regulated investment vehicle tied to an altcoin for the company.
However, it’s not Grayscale’s first product on Avalanche – the company already offers an Avalanche Trust. The product has $1.7 million in assets under management and outlines a 2.5% management fee for qualified investors.
Nasdaq’s filing of form 19b-4 sets the timeline for approval or rejection into motion. Once acknowledged, the SEC will have time to consider the application. Approval will see investors get a more affordable and flexible way to gain exposure to AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche ecosystem.
The proposed ETF will hold AVAX directly, and track its market price. Grayscale will use Coinbase Custody as its custodian.
Altcoin ETFs push
Grayscale’s push for an Avalanche spot ETF joins efforts by VanEck which filed an S-1 form for an AVAX exchange-traded fund earlier this month. Meanwhile, companies such as Canary Capital, Bitwise, Fidelity Investments, and 21Shares have submitted various applications covering multiple altcoins.
While the SEC has still not added to the Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs approved in January 2024, the expectation is that it’s going to soon.
Analysts, including Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas have predicted that Litecoin could be among the first to get a nod from the agency. However, recent developments suggest XRP, SOL and ADA also have a high chance of approval.
The AVAX token traded at $20.28, down 6.6% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing. Avalanche’s price decline mirrored losses across the crypto market, with Ethereun dipping under $1,900 as Bitcoin retested $85k.
However, AVAX remains more than 10% up in the past week.
