21Shares Files to Launch Spot Polkadot ETF as Flurry of Crypto ETPs Hit SEC Amid Crypto-Friendly White House

Investment management firm 21Shares has submitted paperwork to launch a spot Polkadot ETF. The 21Shares Polkadot ETF will track the performance of DOT.

Investment management firm 21Shares has filed paperwork to launch a spot Polkadot ETF, following the recent influx of new crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.

The 21Shares Polkadot ETF would begin trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange, and Coinbase Custody would be the custodian. The ETF will track the performance of DOT, the native token of the Polkadot Network, using the CME CF Polkadot-Dollar Reference Rate to monitor DOT prices.

21Shares filed an S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for the 21Shares Polkadot Trust, which will be used to launch the ETF.

DOT is the 24th largest digital coin by market cap, but it has seen lackluster price performance recently. Its price has fallen 11.1% in the last 24 hours and 25.6% in the last month, according to CoinGecko.

The S-1 filing states that there is no guarantee of DOT's price performance in the short or long term after the ETF launches.

“There is no assurance that DOT will maintain its value in the long or intermediate term,” the filing states. “In the event that the price of DOT decreases, the Sponsor expects the value of the Shares to decline proportionately.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said that the market will ultimately determine whether there is demand for a spot DOT product.

“The market will decide where value lies and if there's value in launching such a product,” Seyffart said in his Feb. 1 post on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). “If no one puts money into a Polkadot ETF— it will close. People are free to launch whatever ETFs are deemed to be allowed by the SEC.”

The SEC is currently facing a shakeup, with pro-crypto Acting Chair Mark Uyeda replacing Gary Gensler, giving crypto industry members hope for ETF approval. President Trump promised during his campaign to strengthen U.S. regulations and make the country the "crypto capital of the world."

Gensler's tenure, which began in April 2021, saw lawsuits filed against major crypto companies like Coinbase and Binance and a strong clampdown on unregistered securities offerings. His last day of work was January 20.

Over a dozen proposed crypto ETFs are awaiting regulatory approval from the SEC. Several investment firms, including 21Shares, have filed to list ETFs that would hold altcoins like SOL, XRP, Dogecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP), and Litecoin, among others.

Recently, the securities regulator gave initial approval to Bitwise's dual Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, which will track the price of BTC and ETH in a single fund.