On Tuesday, public records in Delaware revealed that Grayscale Investments—one of the largest digital asset managers—had officially registered the Cardano Trust ETF. Such trust structures are often the first step in Grayscale’s ETF playbook, typically followed by an S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The news sent prediction markets into overdrive. On Polymarket, odds of a Cardano ETF launching this year surged to 80%, briefly surpassing the hype surrounding a potential Ripple ETF.
At the time of writing, Cardano (ADA) trades at $0.87, marking a 7% gain on the day and an impressive 18% jump over the past week.
Several crypto market watchers, including ETF specialist Nate Geraci, believe the U.S. is on the verge of introducing a standardized regulatory framework for crypto ETFs. Such a move could eliminate the slow, case-by-case approval process that has frustrated issuers for years.
If this framework materializes soon, Geraci says we could see “a wave of crypto ETFs” hit the market. Leading altcoins like Ripple, Cardano, and Solana are expected to be top contenders, potentially opening the door for traditional finance (TradFi) investors to gain simple, regulated exposure to these digital assets for the first time.