TL;DR:
- Grayscale withdrew in just 190 seconds the ETF registration requests for its Cardano, Hedera and Polkadot funds before the SEC.
- The three Form RW filings submitted on August 7 used identical language and offered no justification for the withdrawal.
- Two days earlier, Grayscale’s research team had warned that the U.S. will suffer a crypto exodus if the CLARITY Act fails to advance in the Senate.
Grayscale withdrew on August 7 three ETF registration requests before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reversing its plans to list exchange-traded funds based on Cardano, Hedera and Polkadot in the American market. The three Form RW filings were submitted within an interval of just 190 seconds, between 4:33 and 4:36 p.m. ET, and the firm issued no public statement explaining the decision.
The withdrawals were made under SEC Rule 477, which allows issuers to voluntarily abandon a registration before it is approved. None of the three products had been declared effective, no securities had been issued or sold, and no preliminary prospectus had reached investors. Each form used identical language, stating that “Grayscale does not intend to proceed with the proposed distribution of shares.”
Grayscale Withdraws Registration Applications for ADA, HBAR and DOT ETFs
According to SEC filings, Grayscale filed three Form RW submissions on August 7, withdrawing the S-1 registration statements for the Grayscale Cardano Trust ETF, Grayscale Hedera Trust ETF and Grayscale… pic.twitter.com/haXOpqcOuE
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 10, 2026
Grayscale Offers No Explanation
The withdrawal reveals a significant shift in stance from the enthusiasm the firm displayed earlier in the year, when it filed registrations for the Cardano and Polkadot funds during spring, in line with the wave of altcoin ETF applications driven by the market’s leading issuers. The track record already had precedents: NYSE Arca had withdrawn its listing proposal for Cardano in September of last year, while Nasdaq did the same for Polkadot and Hedera months later.
The reasons behind the decision have not been confirmed, though possibilities include lukewarm investor demand for single-asset products focused on ADA, HBAR and DOT, a strategic reallocation of resources toward registrations considered higher priority, or a recalibration of which altcoins justify a U.S.-listed vehicle today.
A Selective Bet in the ETF Market
This does not imply a retreat from the crypto ETF market overall. The firm submitted in July a preliminary S-1 for a Worldcoin ETF, and its Hyperliquid Staking ETF already trades in the market with the lowest sponsor fee among HYPE products listed in the U.S. Just two days before the withdrawals, Grayscale’s head of research had publicly warned that Washington risks an exodus of investment and entrepreneurial activity if the CLARITY Act fails to advance in the Senate.
That the firm simultaneously pushes for a more favorable regulatory framework while abandoning three of its own pending registrations reveals how selectively issuers operate today when facing the SEC’s current deadlines and requirements. For holders of ADA, HBAR and DOT, a withdrawal under Rule 477 does not permanently close the door: any issuer, including Grayscale itself, may refile applications if regulatory conditions or market demand change.
