Catenaa, Saturday, February 08, 2025 – Asset management firm 21Shares has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) to launch a spot Polkadot exchange-traded fund (ETF), aiming to bring institutional investment exposure to the blockchain network.
According to the January 31 SEC filing, the 21Shares Polkadot Trust would be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange, with Coinbase serving as the custodian for DOT holdings.
This follows 21Shares’ previous Polkadot-related product, the world’s first Polkadot exchange-traded product (ETP), introduced on Switzerland’s SIX Exchange in 2021.
Despite its potential as a multi-chain interoperability protocol, Polkadot (DOT) has struggled with price volatility. The token has declined 5.16% over the past year and 10.48% in the last month, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The ETF filing highlights risks, including increased token supply and regulatory uncertainty, with concerns that DOT could be classified as a security under US law.
The Web3 Foundation, which oversees Polkadot, has disputed such concerns, arguing that DOT’s distribution was carefully managed to avoid centralized control.
The filing comes amid a surge in crypto ETF applications following the resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler on January 20.
The departure has spurred new ETF proposals, including meme coin ETFs and the recently approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF from Bitwise Asset Management.
