The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on Grayscale’s application to list shares of a Polkadot spot exchange-traded fund.

SEC said in a filing on April 24, 2025 that it was extending the period under which it has to either approve or reject the spot Polkadot (DOT).

The regulator’s delay comes amid an influx of crypto ETF proposals before, with the number skyrocketing in the past few months following the exit of former SEC chair Gary Gensler.

For the Grayscale Polkadot ETF, the agency has extended its deadline to June 11, 2025.

This new date falls within the regulatory timeline of 90 days, during which the SEC must either approve or reject a proposed rule change. Grayscale is seeking to convert its existing Polkadot Trust into an exchange-traded fund. 

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” SEC wrote in the filing.

Nasdaq submitted Form 19b-4 to the SEC on February 24, 2025, requesting approval to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Polkadot Trust. The SEC then published the proposal in the Federal Register for public comment on March 13, 2025.

The publication of the proposal in the Federal Register opens up a regulatory timeline in which the agency has to either approve, disapprove or institute proceedings targeted at determining if the application should be disapproved. 

Initial deadline for this decision is 45 days, which in the case of the Grayscale Polkadot ETF, falls on April 27, 2025. As such, the SEC is extending this to 90 days – until June11. 

The agency also delayed decisions on other high-profile crypto ETF applications, including the Canary HBAR ETF and the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF. Both have a new deadline of June 10, 2025. 

Nasdaq initially filed for the Canary HBAR ETF on February 21, before amending the filing on March 4, 2025. The SEC published the proposed rule change in the Federal Register on March 13, 2025.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced its expansion into traditional finance with the launch of commission-free stock and ETF trading in the United States.

The new service is offered through the company’s FINRA-regulated Kraken Securities division. This will allow users to trade over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs directly within their existing Kraken accounts.

Kraken To Launch Initially In Ten States

The rollout has begun with availability in ten states: New Jersey, Connecticut, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Alabama, and the District of Columbia. This marks the first phase of what Kraken describes as a “phased national rollout.”

The cryptocurrency exchange plans to expand to additional U.S. states in the near future, followed by international markets including the UK, Europe, and Australia.

Kraken’s new equities offering allows users to manage stocks, cryptocurrencies, cash, and stablecoins in a single platform. The integration allows easy transitions between digital and traditional asset classes.

The platform introduces several key features designed to ease the trading process. Users can immediately reinvest funds after selling assets, whether into other stocks or cryptocurrencies, without the need to transfer between separate platforms.

“Crypto isn’t just evolving, it’s becoming the backbone for trading across asset classes, such as equities, commodities, and currencies. As demand for 24/7 global access grows, clients want a seamless, all-in-one trading experience,” stated Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO, in the company’s blog post announcing the service.

Regulatory Approvals Pave Way For Global Expansion

Kraken’s entry into stock trading follows a series of regulatory achievements. On March 11, the exchange secured Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorization from the UK’s financial watchdog.

In the United States, the equities trading service is being offered through Kraken Securities, the company’s FINRA-regulated division specifically created to deliver equity trading services. The company is also pursuing a broker-dealer license from FINRA to further solidify its regulatory standing in the U.S. traditional finance market.

These regulatory milestones are central to Kraken’s international expansion strategy. Following the initial U.S. rollout in ten states, the company plans to extend stock trading services to additional states “shortly,” before moving into key international markets including the UK, Europe, and Australia.

Kraken’s Expansion Is A Part Of A Bigger Vision

Kraken’s expansion into equities is a part of a bigger strategic vision for the future of finance. According to Sethi, this move into traditional markets “paves the way for the tokenization of assets.” This statement suggests Kraken sees its equities offering as a stepping stone toward bringing blockchain technology to traditional financial instruments.

The company’s blog post frames the future of trading as “borderless, always on and built on crypto rails,” with Kraken positioning itself to “lead this shift.” This vision aligns with growing industry interest in tokenized securities—traditional assets represented as tokens on blockchain networks, which could potentially enable 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and programmable compliance.

By establishing itself in both cryptocurrency and traditional equity markets, Kraken is creating infrastructure that could later support tokenized assets if regulatory frameworks become better to permit them.

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Vignesh Karunanidhi

Vignesh Karunanidhi is a seasoned crypto journalist with nearly 7 years of experience in the cryptocurrency industry. He has contributed to numerous publications, including WatcherGuru, BeInCrypto, Milkroad, and authored over 10,000 articles

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