Grayscale Files S-1 to Launch BNB-Tracking ETF in the U.S.

Grayscale Investments has filed an S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an exchange-traded fund tracking BNB.

According to a Form S-1 filed on Friday, the proposed product is titled the Grayscale BNB ETF. The filing seeks approval to offer a publicly traded ETF designed to track the price of BNB, the native token of the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem.

The fund is sponsored by Grayscale Investments and incorporated in Delaware. The registration statement notes that the offering would commence only after the SEC declares the filing effective, which is a standard requirement before shares can be sold to the public.

The preliminary prospectus outlines that the trust will issue shares representing fractional beneficial interests, with the value of those shares intended to reflect the performance of BNB.

As with other crypto ETFs proposed in the U.S., the product would not actively trade or use derivatives but would seek to provide passive exposure to the underlying digital asset.

Expanding the Scope of Crypto ETFs

The BNB ETF filing comes as asset managers continue to test the boundaries of U.S. crypto ETF approvals following the authorization of spot Bitcoin ETFs and, later, spot Ethereum products.

Market participants have increasingly viewed these approvals as a potential gateway for additional single-asset crypto ETFs tied to major blockchain networks.

BNB is among the largest digital assets by market capitalization and plays a central role in transaction fees, staking, and decentralized applications within the BNB Chain ecosystem.

Regulatory Context and Timeline

The SEC will review the registration statement for compliance with disclosure, custody, and market-integrity standards. The process can involve multiple rounds of comments and amendments, potentially extending over several months.

The prospectus shows that the ETF is “subject to completion” and may be revised before becoming effective. It also reflects standard risk disclosures, including price volatility, regulatory uncertainty surrounding digital assets, as well as operational risks tied to blockchain networks.

ETF Flows Pick Up

Digital asset investment products saw a sharp rebound in demand last week, recording $2.17 billion in net inflows, the strongest weekly total since October 2025, according to CoinShares data.

📊 Digital asset investment products saw $2.17bn in weekly inflows, the strongest since Oct 2025, according to CoinShares.#ETFs #Crypto https://t.co/Q41wIu0zLs

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 19, 2026

The bulk of those inflows arrived early in the week before sentiment deteriorated, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, renewed tariff threats, and fresh uncertainty around U.S. monetary policy leadership.

By Friday, flows had reversed, with crypto investment products posting $378 million in outflows following diplomatic escalation linked to Greenland and renewed concerns over global trade policy.