SEC Delays Decision on Grayscale’s Hedera Trust as Firm Updates Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin Filings

The SEC has pushed back its decision on Nasdaq’s bid to list the Grayscale Hedera Trust as the investment firm filed updated registrations for its Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin trusts.

The SEC is designating November 12 as the new deadline, according to an order on Grayscale’s Hedera Trust published Tuesday.

On the same day, Grayscale submitted registration statements for its Bitcoin Cash Trust and Litecoin Trust, both of which were filed on Form S-3 as existing vehicles that already report to the SEC.

Bank of New York Mellon is listed as administrator, while Coinbase will serve as custodian and prime broker. Both funds are structured to list on NYSE Arca.

Separately, Grayscale has filed a Form S-1 for the Hedera Trust, marking its initial registration with the SEC on the same day. The S-1 outlines a new product that would trade under the ticker HBAR, contingent on Nasdaq’s pending rule-change request to permit its listing.

Under U.S. securities law, the SEC normally has 180 days to decide on a proposed exchange rule change, but can add another 60 days, often to review comments or amendments before making a final decision.

The latest delay is part of a broader pattern.

Earlier in August, the SEC exercised its final procedural extension on pending Solana ETF applications, pushing the deadline to October 16.

The commission decided it would need more time to assess the Cboe BZX proposals from Bitwise and 21Shares, as well as other filings from Canary Funds and Marinade Finance.

Before August ended, over 90 crypto ETF applications had lined up for SEC action, spanning products tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and other digital assets.

Most are clustered around deadlines set by fall, raising the prospect of multiple rulings in quick succession as the Commission weighs how far to extend approvals beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, which were approved last year.

“Assets with near-term ETF product decisions often command premium pricing on the open market,” Lionel Iruk, managing partner at Empire Legal, said in a statement shared with Decrypt.

An ETF wrapper “unlocks more than fresh liquidity for digital assets,” he said. “It provides the compliance, custody, and transparency frameworks that traditional investors often require before making any investment decision.”

Such a structure “amplifies their appeal beyond the crypto-native audience,” he said, adding that the appeal of crypto ETFs is anchored on their “potential transition from speculative enthusiasm to structured, regulated offerings that meet institutional standards.”