Grayscale piles on altcoin ETFs with cardano filing

Cardano is back in the crypto conversation as digital asset heavyweight Grayscale filed for a cardano ETF with the SEC yesterday. Last week, it filed a 19-b4 form with NYSE Arca to transform its doge trust into a doge ETF.

Cardano is the ninth-largest crypto by market cap, at $28 billion, according to CoinGecko. On Tuesday morning, hours after the Grayscale filing, the token was up 12.3%.

A Grayscale spokesperson, commenting on the cardano filing, said the firm was “appreciative of the opportunity to innovate while engaging constructively with regulators as they review crypto ETPs.”

“We remain optimistic about the potential of bringing digital assets further into the US regulatory perimeter in the ETP wrapper on behalf of Grayscale’s clients,” the spokesperson added. 

This cardano ETF filing is the “first one in US and ballpark 60th crypto ETF filed this year so far,” Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst, said in an X post.

The pace of altcoin and meme coin ETF filings is dizzying, especially considering that the SEC approved bitcoin spot ETFs just over a year ago. Firms, including Bitwise and Rex Osprey, are rushing to file such ETFs — whether they’re $TRUMP, doge, bonk, or XRP ETFs — taking advantage of the pro-crypto administration and wanting to get in early.

Approvals for these also seem to be fairly imminent. Balchunas recently posted his “altcoin ETF approval odds” on X.

“Litecoin leads w 90% chance, then Doge, followed by Solana and XRP,” he added.

Grayscale also filed to convert its XRP trust into an XRP ETF, as well as its solana and litecoin trusts into ETFs.

Todd Ruoff, CEO of Autonomys, noted that ADA hasn’t really been “in the mainstream for some time,” adding that Grayscale’s application faces headwinds. “At least in the short term, with the lack of a regulated CME futures market and the SEC having previously labeled cardano as a security,” he said.

He added, however, that the move exemplifies the industry’s “relentless drive to pave the way for broader crypto-ETF adoption and integration into mainstream finance.”

Other experts also noted that ADA boasts an essential differentiator from, say, solana, namely regarding distribution and centralization.

Solana, “while advancing in speed, has faced criticism for centralization but is actively working towards broader decentralization,” Alan Orwick, cofounder of Quai Network, said. “Cardano boasts a more community-driven approach with over 3,000 validator nodes.”

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy is a financial journalist who’s written for Dow Jones, The Financial Times Group, and Business Insider.