SEC acknowledges Nasdaq’s filing for Grayscale’s HBAR Trust ETF

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has officially acknowledged Nasdaq’s proposal to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Hedera Trust.

According to a March 11 notice, the SEC has acknowledged Nasdaq’s 19b-4 filing for a commodity-based trust holding HBAR, which aims to give investors regulated exposure to the native token of the Hedera Network.

This commodity-based trust structure holds HBAR directly, with shares representing fractional ownership of the trust’s HBAR holdings. However, unlike a spot ETF, it does not allow direct redemptions, meaning shares may trade at a premium or discount to the actual asset value.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing is set to oversee administration and transfer agent duties for the trust, while CSC Delaware Trust Company will act as the trustee, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company will manage asset custody.

With this acknowledgment, the SEC has now opened a 21-day public comment period, allowing industry participants and the public to weigh in on the proposal. After this phase, the regulator will decide whether to approve, reject, or extend its review process.

HBAR responded positively to the development, gaining over 7% in the past 24 hours

Grayscale and Canary Capital are currently the only asset managers pursuing HBAR ETFs.

While the SEC acknowledged Nasdaq’s filing for the Grayscale Hedera Trust, on the same day, it pushed back its decision on several altcoin ETFs, including Grayscale’s XRP ETF and Cboe BZX Exchange’s spot Solana ETF, extending the review period until May.

However, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shrugged off the delay, calling it standard procedure rather than a cause for concern.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the SEC has been flooded with ETF filings following Trump’s election and the resignation of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

The latest addition to this wave is Bitwise’s Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF, announced on March 11. The fund will track publicly traded companies holding at least 1,000 BTC in their corporate treasuries, offering investors exposure to firms accumulating Bitcoin.