TL;DR
- VanEck registered an Avalanche ETF in Delaware, a preliminary step before a potential SEC filing. AVAX has accumulated a 65% drop so far this year.
- Avalanche, designed for executing smart contracts with high scalability, currently ranks 20th in market capitalization with $7 billion.
- The viability of this ETF will depend on the regulatory process and market developments in the coming months.
VanEck registered an Avalanche ETF in the United States through a filing submitted in Delaware. Although an official application to the SEC has not yet been made, the procedure suggests that the company is evaluating the feasibility of a publicly traded fund based on AVAX. This news comes at a time when the market has experienced a significant downturn, with AVAX losing 65% of its value so far this year.
Avalanche is a blockchain platform designed for smart contract execution, focusing on scalability and speed. Its native token, AVAX, reached its peak in 2021 when it entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Currently, it ranks 20th with an estimated value of $7 billion.
A Catastrophic Year for Avalanche
At the time of writing, AVAX is trading at $16.74 per unit. Over the past 24 hours, it has lost 6.15% of its value, with weekly losses reaching 18.5%, and over the last year, its depreciation has exceeded 65%.
This marks VanEck’s fourth cryptocurrency ETF registration in Delaware, following Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The company has been one of the most active in the market, participating in the launch of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in 2024 and filing for a Bitcoin futures ETF since 2017.
Debate Over the Need for an AVAX ETF
The announcement sparked discussion in the crypto community about VanEck’s decision to prioritize Avalanche over other assets like XRP. So far, no other public filings for an exclusive Avalanche ETF have been made in the U.S. However, in October 2024, Grayscale submitted an application to the SEC to convert a multi-asset fund into an ETF, including AVAX along with four other cryptocurrencies.
The registration of this new ETF confirms asset managers’ interest in diversifying their digital products. Despite market volatility, companies continue to explore new tools and opportunities to introduce new funds. The viability of this ETF will depend on the regulatory process and market developments in the coming months
