Grayscale submits BNB spot ETF application to the SEC

Source: Yellow Original Title: Why did Grayscale file the BNB ETF application eight months after VanEck?

Original Link: Grayscale Investments filed an S-1 registration statement with the (SEC) Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot BNB (ETF).

The document confirms the asset manager’s intention to offer a regulated exposure to the native cryptocurrency of the BNB Chain.

The filing comes after the Delaware trust registration for the BNB ETF by Grayscale on January 8. That procedural step typically precedes formal applications to the SEC for cryptocurrency investment products.

Grayscale enters an already established race

VanEck became the first firm to request a spot BNB ETF in the United States in May 2025. The competing application initially included staking provisions, but VanEck removed that feature in a November amendment, citing regulatory uncertainty around BNB classification.

Grayscale manages approximately $35 billion in cryptocurrency assets across multiple ETFs. The company currently operates products tracking Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Chainlink (LINK), and Dogecoin (DOGE). On January 20, Grayscale filed an application to convert its NEAR Protocol (NEAR) trust into an ETF.

Regulatory context

The SEC approved generic listing standards for commodity-backed trust holdings in September 2025. That rule eliminated asset-specific approval requirements, speeding up the review process for digital assets that meet the criteria.

BNB was trading near $884 at the time of writing, with a market capitalization exceeding $120 billion. The token was launched in 2017 through an initial coin offering (ICO) and serves as the main utility token for the BNB Chain ecosystem.

More than 70 altcoin ETF applications are currently awaiting SEC review. The regulatory agency has delayed multiple decisions in recent weeks, refusing to provide clear timelines for pending cryptocurrency product approvals.