Nasdaq filed a 19b-4 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to list and trade shares of Grayscale's spot Avalanche exchange-traded fund.
A 19b-4 filing is a part of the process for proposing an ETF to the SEC. Once acknowledged by the agency, the filing will be published in the Federal Register, initiating its approval process.
Similar to Grayscale's Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, if approved, the proposed rule change would convert Grayscale's existing Avalanche Trust, launched in August 2024 as a private placement, into a spot exchange-traded fund.
According to the filing, the Trust's assets consist solely of AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche network, with an investment objective for the value of its shares to reflect the value of the AVAX held by the Trust, determined by reference to the index price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities. Coinbase is identified as the custodian for the Trust, while its administrator and transfer agent is expected to be BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.
Nasdaq's filing on behalf of Grayscale comes a week after fellow asset manager VanEck submitted an S-1 registration statement to the SEC — aiming to get the green light from the agency to become the first spot Avalanche ETF.
Avalanche is a fast, low latency scalable Layer 1 blockchain platform with three main chains: the X-Chain for asset transfers, the C-Chain for running Ethereum-compatible smart contracts and the P-Chain for managing validators and custom blockchains (subnets).
AVAX is down 7.4% over the past 24 hours, according to The Block's Avalanche price page, currently trading for $20.37.
AVAX/USD price chart. Image: The Block/TradingView.
Since the reelection of Donald Trump, the U.S. has seen a flurry of new spot crypto ETF filings beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum that were approved under the previous administration in January 2024 and July 2024, respectively.
Firms including Grayscale, as well as Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, 21Shares and Canary Capital, are looking to get the SEC's sign-off for several different types of crypto ETFs, including ones tracking SOL, XRP, ADA, DOGE and LTC, according to The Block's ETF Tracker page.
The SEC has taken a very different stance toward the crypto industry since the U.S. presidential election, frequently criticized by many for its regulation-by-enforcement approach under former Chair Gary Gensler.
Gensler left the agency in January following the president's inauguration, and crypto-friendly former regulator Paul Atkins was tapped by Trump to lead the SEC under the new administration, pending Senate confirmation.
Meanwhile, the SEC has also established a new crypto task force under the leadership of Commissioner Hester Peirce, aimed at creating a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
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