SEC delays decision on Grayscale’s Polkadot ETF

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on Grayscale’s application to list shares of a Polkadot spot exchange-traded fund.

SEC said in a filing on April 24, 2025 that it was extending the period under which it has to either approve or reject the spot Polkadot (DOT).

The regulator’s delay comes amid an influx of crypto ETF proposals before, with the number skyrocketing in the past few months following the exit of former SEC chair Gary Gensler.

For the Grayscale Polkadot ETF, the agency has extended its deadline to June 11, 2025.

This new date falls within the regulatory timeline of 90 days, during which the SEC must either approve or reject a proposed rule change. Grayscale is seeking to convert its existing Polkadot Trust into an exchange-traded fund. 

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” SEC wrote in the filing.

Nasdaq submitted Form 19b-4 to the SEC on February 24, 2025, requesting approval to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Polkadot Trust. The SEC then published the proposal in the Federal Register for public comment on March 13, 2025.

The publication of the proposal in the Federal Register opens up a regulatory timeline in which the agency has to either approve, disapprove or institute proceedings targeted at determining if the application should be disapproved. 

Initial deadline for this decision is 45 days, which in the case of the Grayscale Polkadot ETF, falls on April 27, 2025. As such, the SEC is extending this to 90 days – until June11. 

The agency also delayed decisions on other high-profile crypto ETF applications, including the Canary HBAR ETF and the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF. Both have a new deadline of June 10, 2025. 

Nasdaq initially filed for the Canary HBAR ETF on February 21, before amending the filing on March 4, 2025. The SEC published the proposed rule change in the Federal Register on March 13, 2025.