In a significant development for the cryptocurrency landscape, VanEck has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell shares in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would track Binance’s blockchain. This initiative marks the first attempt in the U.S. to create a BNB ETF, following the filing of an S-1 document on Monday.
BNB, the native token of the BNB Chain, was launched in 2017 by the prominent cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Should VanEck’s application receive approval, investors in the BNB ETF could potentially benefit not only from the appreciation of the token but also from staking rewards, additional tokens, and other forms of income as outlined in their filing.
However, the approval of such features remains uncertain. Under the leadership of former SEC chair Gary Gensler, the commission took a firm stance against staking in crypto products, impacting several spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs which chose to exclude this feature. The current SEC chair, Paul Atkins, may be more receptive to including staking in future applications, a hope bolstered by Grayscale’s recent move to amend its document to incorporate staking for its Ethereum ETFs. Additionally, hedge fund Canary Capital has proposed launching a Tron ETF with staking capabilities.
As of now, the SEC has yet to decide on the pending applications, which has resulted in a series of delayed deadlines for various crypto ETFs in recent weeks. VanEck is expected to follow up its initial filing with a 19b-4 document to solidify its intentions and establish a regulatory deadline.
Currently, BNB boasts a market capitalization of $83.9 billion, trading at approximately $596 at the time of this publication, reflecting a modest increase of 0.27% over the past 24 hours. As the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, the implications of a BNB ETF could resonate widely, potentially influencing market dynamics and investor interest in the crypto space.
