Grayscale Submits S-1 for Spot BNB ETF in Expanding Altcoin ETF Strategy

Grayscale Investments has moved forward with plans to expand its altcoin product lineup by filing an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Binance Coin (BNB) exchange-traded fund. The filing, submitted on January 23, 2026, marks a big move for Grayscale’s altcoin strategy for the year. If approved, the product would offer investors regulated exposure to BNB through traditional market infrastructure.

Grayscale Prepares to Launch BNB ETF

Grayscale Investments has submitted a registration filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval for a Binance Coin (BNB) exchange-traded fund. With this move, Grayscale becomes the second crypto asset manager to pursue a BNB ETF, following an earlier filing from rival firm VanEck.

The proposed fund is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker GBNB, giving institutional investors direct exposure to the spot price of BNB, closely associated with the Binance crypto exchange.

Grayscale named Coinbase as the fund’s prime broker, with Coinbase Custody handling asset storage. The firm also plans to support in-kind creation and redemption, and may allow staking, which would let investors generate yield from their holdings.

The move follows Grayscale’s decision to register the trust in Delaware just two weeks earlier, a step that pointed to the firm’s plans to launch the crypto ETF.

A key hurdle is the SEC’s ongoing review of whether BNB should be classified as a security under U.S. law. In past lawsuits against crypto exchanges, the regulator has argued that BNB was sold as an unregistered security.

Grayscale’s filing is expected to address these concerns with detailed legal analysis and market evidence, making BNB as a utility-driven token used within a decentralized blockchain network.

VanEck Still Awaits Approval

Grayscale’s application comes after a similar BNB ETF filing by VanEck in April, which is still awaiting approval. VanEck later updated its proposal in November to remove staking, despite including it in its recently launched Solana ETF.

Grayscale has also excluded staking from its filing, likely due to continued regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. At present, U.S. markets do not offer a BNB ETF, although European investors can already gain BNB exposure through a 21Shares exchange-traded product.   

If it receives regulatory approval, Grayscale’s proposed Binance Coin ETF would add to an already growing lineup of single-asset crypto funds from the firm, which currently includes products linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and Chainlink. The company has also recently applied to convert its Near Trust into an ETF and has pending filings for Bittensor and Zcash.

Meanwhile, competitors may reach the market sooner. VanEck has already updated its filing for a BNB ETF, potentially allowing it to launch ahead of Grayscale, while REX Osprey has submitted its own Binance Coin ETF proposal under the Investment Company Act of 1940.