Nasdaq has submitted a rule change application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today March 18, 2025, for the listing of the 21Shares Polkadot Trust, a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on Polkadot (DOT) as per PANews.
Here, the rule change refers to Nasdaq’s proposal under Rule 19b-4 of the Securities Exchange Act, allowing self-regulatory organization to propose changes to their rules. This process is necessary for introducing new financial products like ETFs, ensuring they comply with regulatory standards.
Just like any other spot ETF, the proposed Polkadot ETF (managed by 21Shares US LLC and hosted by Coinbase Custody) aims to provide investors with exposure to the token without having to actually have the direct ownership of it. The fund will be utilizing the CME CF Polkadot index as its benchmark, allowing it to track the performance of DOT effectively.
Since Trump administration has taken over at the White House and with the changes in the leadership at the SEC, there has been a growing trend among asset managers seeking regulatory approval for cryptocurrency ETFs, specially for altcoins. This surge is also because these companies are now trying to offer a more diversified investment opportunities other than Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Polkadot ETF yet to be Approved by the SEC
The application currently does not have an approval from the SEC. This has become a critical hurdle for many crypto related financial products. The agency’s stance on these application has been cautious, with several recent filings for altcoins ETFs facing delays or rejections. Keeping this in mind, if this Polkadot ETF is approved, it could signal a shift towards greater acceptance of altcoin ETFs in regulated markets.
This filing comes right after 21Shares recently introduced additional crypto ETFs, which include Ripple’s XRP and Solana’s SOL. As institutional interest in cryptocurrencies continues to rise, the potential launch of Polkadot ETF could enhance its visibility and credibility in mainstream finance.
DOT Token Price Unaffected
Despite this positive news of Nasdaq submitting an application to list the 21Shares Polkadot ETF, the price of the DOT token has not seen any significant change. This could be because of several reasons. Lets have a look at a few of them:
Market Sentiment plays a key role, and the broader cryptocurrency market has been volatile, which just overshadows this development altogether. Additionally, it has been observed that the trading volume of DOT has declined, which also indicates a reduced interest from the investors or decreased investor confidence.
The cryptocurrency of Polkadot (DOT) is currently struggling to to break the key resistance level which is set at $5 mark. This suggests that the investors are currently very cautious and they are probably waiting for clearer signals from the SEC regarding ETF approvals before making the commitment.
At press time, the price of the token stands at $4.31 with a dip of 1.3% in the last 24 hours as per CoinGecko.
Other factors such as macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty also influence the market trends and could possibly also be the reason due to which Polkadot is not getting the anticipated attention from the investors.
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