tl;dr
The SEC has delayed Grayscale’s plan to list its Hedera Trust on Nasdaq, pushing the decision deadline to November 12. Grayscale is now filing updated registrations for its Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin trusts, which may be listed on NYSE Arca. The Hedera Trust has filed a Form S-1, seeking a Nasdaq l...
The SEC’s latest move has thrown a wrench into Grayscale’s plans to list its Hedera Trust on Nasdaq, pushing the decision deadline to November 12. The regulator’s delay comes as the investment firm scrambles to file updated registrations for its Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin trusts, both of which now sit under the SEC’s radar as existing vehicles. These filings, submitted on Form S-3, signal a shift in strategy—Grayscale is positioning these funds for a potential listing on NYSE Arca, with Bank of New York Mellon as administrator and Coinbase stepping in as custodian and prime broker.
Meanwhile, the Hedera Trust itself is making its debut with a Form S-1 filing, a first for Grayscale. This document outlines the trust’s structure, which would trade under the ticker HBAR, pending Nasdaq’s approval of a rule change to allow its listing. The SEC typically has 180 days to review proposed exchange rule changes, but the agency has previously extended timelines to accommodate revisions or feedback—a pattern that’s now playing out again.
This isn’t an isolated hiccup. Earlier in August, the SEC pushed back deadlines for Solana ETF applications, giving itself extra time to scrutinize proposals from Bitwise, 21Shares, and others. With over 90 crypto ETF applications now in the pipeline—spanning Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and other assets—the regulator faces a mounting pile of requests. Many of these are clustered around fall deadlines, hinting at a potential avalanche of rulings as the SEC grapples with whether to expand approvals beyond the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that cleared last year.
For investors, the stakes are high. “Assets with near-term ETF product decisions often command premium pricing on the open market,” says Lionel Iruk, managing partner at Empire Legal. ETFs, he argues, do more than inject liquidity—they provide the compliance, custody, and transparency frameworks that traditional investors demand. This shift, he notes, could bridge the gap between crypto’s speculative roots and the institutional rigor that’s long been missing.
As the SEC’s deliberations drag on, one thing is clear: the race to bring crypto ETFs to market is heating up. Whether Grayscale’s Hedera Trust or any of the 90+ applications will cross the finish line first remains to be seen—but the countdown is on.