NYSE Arca files for Cardano ETF on behalf of Grayscale as crypto proposals gain momentum

A subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, on behalf of Grayscale, filed to create a spot Cardano exchange-traded fund as firms ramp up efforts to get the greenlight for several crypto funds.

The exchange, NYSE Arca, filed a 19b-4 form on Monday on behalf of Grayscale to form a proposed Grayscale Cardano Trust. The custodian would be Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC and the administrator would be BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, according to the filing .

"The Exchange notes that the proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of an additional type of exchange-traded product, and the first such product based on ADA, which will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace," NYSE Arca said in the filing.

A 19b-4 form is filed by exchanges on behalf of issuers and is the second part of a two-step process for proposing a spot crypto ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Once acknowledged by the SEC, the filing will be published in the Federal Register, initiating the agency's approval process.

Firms have proposed a variety of crypto ETFs over the past several weeks, from ones tied to Dogecoin and President Donald Trump's memecoin to others based on XRP, Litecoin and Solana. Under a new administration, the SEC is expected to take a friendlier approach to crypto.

Cardano (ADA) is the ninth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of over $25 billion, according to The Block's price data .

The SEC is also moving forward with other crypto ETF-related proposals, including most recently one from Cboe BZX Exchange Inc. to allow for in-kind redemptions and creations for the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF. On Monday, the agency acknowledged that proposal and asked for public comments.

In-kind creation redemptions were one of the key technical details hashed out ahead of the approval of several spot bitcoin ETFs last year. At the time, the SEC favored a cash model that required issuers to move bitcoin out of storage, sell it right away, and then give the cash back to the investor.