Nasdaq Exchange Submits Filing to List Grayscale AVAX ETF

The NASDAQ exchange has applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list shares of an Avalanche exchange-traded fund issued by crypto asset manager Grayscale.

The 19b-4 form for Grayscale’s AVAX ETF follows its registration as a Delaware Trust entity more than two weeks ago. 

If approved, the AVAX ETF would use Coinbase Custody as its custodian, the 19b-4 shows. 

The issuer must still file an S-1 registration statement describing the product, however.  

AVAX, the utility token of Layer-1 blockchain Avalanche, was recently trading at $20.17, down 8% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. 

The altcoin is the 17th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to the data provider. 

This latest sign that Grayscale could soon file for a spot AVAX ETF comes less than three weeks after investment firm VanEck also registered for an Avalanche (AVAX) ETF in Delaware. Several asset managers already offer Avalanche ETPs, which provide direct access to the AVAX through regulated exchanges.

The application forms part of a broader trend of fund issuers jockeying to introduce altcoin ETFs as federal regulators take a softer stance on crypto-based investment products under newly elected President Donal Trump. 

The spate of applications also comes after the success of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last year, and as crypto-based exchange-traded products pulled in $44 billion worth of assets in 2024. 

Grayscale already offers spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to its clients. It has also applied to launch funds based on less traded cryptocurrencies, such as XRP, Solana and Dogecoin. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a conversion from an existing trust, manages nearly $17 billion in assets, the third most among Bitcoin funds behind similar products from BlackRock and Fidelity. 

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust controls about $2.5 billion in assets.

Decrypt reached out to Grayscale for comment on the latest filing.

Edited by James Rubin