Key Takeaways
- Grayscale filed a 2nd amended S-1 for its BNB ETF on May 16 with the SEC.
- Vaneck updated its own competing BNB ETF application the same day, the first simultaneous dual amendment of this nature.
- Bloomberg’s James Seyffart said Grayscale’s amendment suggests the SEC is reviewing and engaging actively with both players.
The Race for a Spot BNB ETF
Grayscale’s second amended S-1 is the more significant development as it indicates the issuer responding to written comments from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff. Seyffart noted the amendment suggests Grayscale is advancing its BNB ETF based on direct SEC feedback
Grayscale first filed its initial S-1 for the Grayscale BNB Trust late last year, proposing to list under the ticker GBNB on Nasdaq. Vaneck registered a competing trust in April and submitted its S-1 shortly after. Both firms are now in active amendment cycles with the regulator.
BNB is the native token of BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain) and serves as the primary utility asset within the Binance ecosystem, used for trading fee discounts, token launches, and onchain governance. At current prices, BNB carries a market capitalization above $87 billion, making it the third-largest crypto asset by market cap after bitcoin and ether.
Neither filing includes staking, an omission that reflects ongoing regulatory uncertainty about whether staking yields on ETF-held assets would trigger additional securities law requirements, the same caution that shaped early iterations of the spot ether ETF applications.
Structure and Custody
Coinbase will act as custodian for both the Grayscale and Vaneck BNB ETF products, holding BNB on behalf of fund shareholders. That mirrors the custody arrangement used for both firms’ spot bitcoin and ether funds. Before either product can begin trading, the SEC must also approve a 19b-4 rule change filed by Nasdaq, permitting the exchange to list the new instrument.
The simultaneous amendments on May 16 signal competitive urgency. In both the spot bitcoin and spot ether ETF races, the issuer that achieved regulatory approval first captured the majority of early institutional inflows. Both Grayscale and Vaneck seem to be well aware of that dynamic.
Lastly, with whale accumulation heating up, $700 could be a near-term BNB price target (contingent on ETF approval), drawing parallels to the flow-driven price re-ratings that followed the bitcoin and ether ETF launches.
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