Asset administration agency 21Shares has formally filed with the U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) to introduce a spot Polkadot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In keeping with the Jan. 31 SEC submitting, the proposed 21Shares Polkadot Belief could be listed on the Cboe BZX Change, with Coinbase designated because the custodian for DOT holdings.
The event follows 21Shares’ earlier foray into Polkadot funding merchandise.
In February 2021, the agency made historical past by launching the world’s first Polkadot exchange-traded product (ETP) on Switzerland’s SIX Change, bringing institutional funding publicity to the blockchain community.
Market Uncertainty Surrounding Polkadot ETF
Polkadot, at present ranked 18th by market capitalization, has confronted sluggish worth efficiency regardless of its potential as a multi-chain interoperability protocol.
CoinMarketCap knowledge exhibits that DOT has misplaced 5.16% over the previous 12 months and has seen a ten.48% decline within the final month.
Given this volatility, 21Shares acknowledged in its submitting that there isn’t a assure of future worth appreciation, cautioning that the ETF’s success will probably be instantly tied to Polkadot’s market efficiency.
“There isn’t any assurance that DOT will preserve its worth within the lengthy or intermediate time period,” the submitting said.
“Within the occasion that the value of DOT declines, the Sponsor expects the worth of the Shares to say no proportionately.”
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart weighed in on the submitting, emphasizing that market demand will finally decide whether or not a spot Polkadot ETF is sustainable.
“The market will determine the place worth lies and if there’s worth in launching such a product. If nobody places cash right into a Polkadot ETF—it is going to shut. Persons are free to launch no matter ETFs are deemed to be allowed by the SEC,” Seyffart said in a Jan. 31 publish on X.
idk who wants to listen to this however the market will determine the place worth lies and if there's worth in launching such a product. If nobody places cash right into a Polkadot ETF — it is going to shut. Persons are free to launch no matter ETFs are deemed to be allowed by the SEC
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 31, 2025
The submitting additionally outlined a number of potential dangers related to Polkadot’s community, together with issues about an elevated provide of DOT tokens in circulation and the opportunity of DOT being categorized as a safety beneath U.S. federal legislation.
In February 2023, the Web3 Basis, which oversees the Polkadot protocol, pushed again towards the safety classification issues.
The inspiration asserted that it had fastidiously managed DOT distribution to stop any single entity from gaining extreme management over the community.
Moreover, it said that it had rejected investment-only purchases from enterprise capitalists, focusing as an alternative on selling Polkadot’s expertise reasonably than its token worth.
Crypto ETF Filings Surge Following Gensler’s Departure
21Shares’ newest submitting comes at a pivotal time for the SEC and cryptocurrency ETFs, following the resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Jan. 20.
Gensler, identified for his cautious stance on crypto laws, stepped down amid rising stress for higher regulatory readability within the digital asset area.
His departure has triggered a wave of latest crypto ETF filings, together with Osprey Funds and REX Shares, which filed for meme coin ETFs masking Dogecoin (DOGE), Official Trump (TRUMP), and Bonk (BONK) on Jan. 21.
In the meantime, the SEC has additionally granted preliminary approval for Bitwise Asset Administration’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, which might monitor each BTC and ETH in a single fund—one other vital step within the evolving panorama of crypto-based monetary merchandise.
The publish 21Shares Seeks SEC Approval for Polkadot ETF Launch in Newest Submitting appeared first on Cryptonews.