VanEck has submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a novel exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of Binance's native cryptocurrency, BNB, on its blockchain. The filing, made on Monday, marks the first such proposal for a BNB ETF in the U.S. market.
BNB is the indigenous token of the BNB Chain, which was introduced by Binance in 2017. If the fund gains approval, investors would not only be able to purchase shares but also potentially earn staking rewards and receive additional tokens, generating extra income. This development comes after the SEC, under the previous chair Gary Gensler, expressed reservations regarding staking, prompting several Ethereum ETFs to exclude this feature.
However, with the new chair Paul Atkins at the helm, there is optimism that the regulatory stance may shift in favor of approving staking for future products. Recently, Grayscale filed an amended proposal to incorporate staking into its Ethereum ETFs, and Canary Capital has proposed a Tron ETF with staking capabilities.
The SEC has yet to make a decision on these proposals, resulting in delays for several crypto ETFs. Following this initial filing, VanEck is expected to submit a 19b-4 document, formalizing its intentions and establishing a deadline for the regulator.
As of the latest market data, BNB boasts a market capitalization of $83.9 billion, with its price standing at $596, reflecting a 0.27% increase over the past 24 hours, positioning it as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.