Nasdaq Seeks SEC Approval to list 21Shares Polkadot ETF

Nasdaq has officially asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for permission to list a Polkadot (DOT) exchange-traded fund (ETF) for 21Shares, a Swiss asset management company.

A portion of the filling | Source: Nasdaq

The exchange has submitted filing Form 19b-4 as a formal request to the SEC to allow it to list the ETFs. However, that does not mean it has been approved yet; the SEC still has to review it.

The ETF will track Polkadot’s spot price, meaning its value will be based on the real-time market price of DOT. Meanwhile, this filing comes after 21Shares updated its S-1 form earlier this year, which is another step needed before launching the fund. The company has been working on several crypto ETFs, including ones for XRP and Solana (SOL).

Grayscale Investments, another crypto asset management, has also filed with the SEC for the same thing. 

At the same time, 21Shares is also working on a staking feature for its Core Ethereum ETF. Staking allows cryptocurrency holders to earn rewards by helping secure the network. The feature would make Ethereum ETFs more appealing to investors who want to generate extra income if it is approved.

But, even though companies are filing for all these ETFs, the SEC has been slow to approve them. It recently delayed decisions on ETFs linked to XRP, Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. With this, it’s unclear how long it will take for a final decision on the Polkadot ETF.